Chaos
by Tazaki4
Summary: HinaNaruM for Blood. Naruto gives it all to beat the Akatsuki. 6 years later he lives as a jonin with a girl he calls his daughter. But war is on the horizon and his family is in danger. How will Naruto overcome limits and protect his precious people?
1. Prologue

AN: I am sorry to people waiting on Blind. I was terrorized that my idea for my next fic would get lost in the hectic time around midterms, so I am posting a teaser prologue. I will update this story a maximum of once for every three chapters I post in Blind until Blind is done. So if you like this one, cool. Read my other work until I get to this one. If you want Blind, cool. It will be the most worked on fic by far. This and my Zelda fic are side-fics at this time. I don't own Naruto, nor will I for the duration of this fic... or my life...

Chaos

Prologue: A Child is Born…

"Damn you!" Madara Uchiha cursed as he felt the last of his strength leave him. His body had been ripped apart by the Kyuubi's container. He was the last, the hidden leader of the Akatsuki. The rest of his group lay dead in various parts of their HQ, every one killed by the elite team sent from Konoha. It had only complicated things further when Orochimaru had appeared in the body of Itachi's brother and had aided Konoha in defeating the members, only to turn on them moments later. Orochimaru now lay dead in many pieces in the very chamber that Madara would call his grave.

"You… bastard! How… can you… be so…" Madara coughed up blood onto the feet of the man in front of him.

"I can because I needed to protect my friends." Naruto Uzumaki stood, barely, in front of the most terrible opponent he had ever faced. His body had more cuts on it then if he had been in a blizzard of kunai. His face had a gash going from the tip of his left eye to the bottom of his right chin which bled profusely. How the demon vessel had not died from blood loss was beyond the quickly fading intellect of the last Uchiha. Naruto's right arm hung limp at his side, broken. The only two people who knew what this meant for him were not there. Naruto couldn't move his arm to finish Madara, but instead he channeled the last of his chakra into a foot and picked up one of his father's kunai by using chakra to stick it to his sandal. He then used his final amount of strength to decapitate the Akatsuki leader with a kick.

It was over. Naruto had won. He walked over to the last person alive, barely. Sasuke Uchiha lay dieing, missing the lower half of his body. Orochimaru had taken his body over and had used it to fight Naruto while Naruto fought Madara. Now that Orochimaru had passed out from the pain, Sasuke came back to the surface.

"Heh… I guess you win… again… dobe."

"Damn it, Sasuke. I… I didn't mean…"

"You did what you… had to… now, before I die… take my eye…"

"What?"

"You… lost one… didn't you… and you… deserve… it…" Sasuke coughed up blood, Naruto was amazed he was still able to move, let alone talk.

"Ok…" Naruto took out a kunai and used it to carefully remove the left eye of the Uchiha. He sealed it into a scroll.

"You know… Naruto… I… I… lied about wanting to kill you… you…you… were my best friend… the only one who could understand my pain…"

"Sasuke…"

"Thanks… for… avenging… my family… friend…"

"Shut up, Teme! Why did you have to go to Orochimaru… this had to happen… kuso…"

"Heh… dobe… don't cry over me… take care… of everyone…"

"Hai."

"And… don't marry Sakura…"

"Nani!"

"As a friend… I… would advise… finding… someone… who loves you… not someone… who will look for a shoulder… to lean on… after… I die…"

"But…"

"Naruto… you know it… she doesn't love you… I think… she didn't even love me… she is just lonely… find a girl… who loves you for you… do that… for me…"

"….Hai…"

"Good… be happy… and live… unlike me…" Sasuke coughed once more and then his chest stopped rising and falling. He had died. Naruto was tempted to collapse right there, but knew he had one last thing to do. Free the ones the Akatsuki had imprisoned. Naruto made his way to the cells at the back of the room that was covered in the body parts of his enemies. After looking in each one he found that only one contained what might be a live human. A small girl, probably only five or six, lay badly beaten on her side. Through the pain induced haze Naruto could see her chest rising and falling. She was alive, more so then he was. He tried the door and found it unlocked. It had been sealed by the chakra of Pein and with his death all of the seals he had held up were broken. He managed to walk into the cell.

"Hey." The girl was out cold it seemed. Naruto somehow managed to get her on his back and carry her to where his friends should have been using only his left arm. When he reached the entrance he found two people, much less then he had sent in on this mission. Much less then should have come out. Kakashi and Jiriya stood at the entrance waiting for him. He was right behind them before they even sensed him, his chakra had depleted so far.

"Naruto! Damn, you look horrible."

"The rest of the team went ahead, there were many injuries, no one was unhurt. But, as of an hour ago, no one died. Pretty decent for your first mission as a jonin, Naruto."

"No one died?"

"No one died so far."

"Good, I'll run back, after all it is only a half day from here…"

"Who is the girl… Naruto?" Naruto was gone, running through the trees towards the road. They saw how his arm trailed limply behind him. They started after him. Naruto knew that this would probably be the last time he ever had a chance to run. His body was damaged beyond that a normal human could have survived… and what was worse was that instead of healing like he normally did in minutes, he wasn't feeling any chakra at all. It was as if the demon inside of him had been shut off. Naruto sprinted for all his worth, matching speeds that Lee would have been proud of. He was dieing, he knew. Unless he reached Konoha soon, he knew that he would die of blood loss. The healing powers of his prisoner had stopped near the end of the fight. It was only three hours later when Naruto saw the city gates. A trail of blood ran behind him for miles. He stood looking at the city, with an unknown little girl on his back. He smiled. Then he fell, face first into the dust.

* * *

"…aruto… Nar…. ake up… aru… Naruto… wake up, Naruto!" Naruto came to consciousness only a few minutes later it seemed. He knew he should be in pain… a broken arm should technically do that to a human. _Hey, fox?_ Naruto called out into his mind. _Kitsune-teme? What's going on?__** Shut up.**__ No, really. I should be dead, right? Not even you could heal me after that…_ _**No, I couldn't… you bastard. You used up every ounce of chakra I had. I am dieing.**__ Finally.__** Shut up, at least I leave a pathetic excuse for a shell.**__ Pathetic? I defeated three Akatsuki members without even using a little of your chakra, I only used you for Pein and Madara.__** Yeah, and that was that. Next time you enter your mindscape I won't be there. Thanks. **__Oh, well. I don't need you now that all of my enemies are dead.__** No, you won't. No one cares about non-combatants…**__ What did you say?__** You are going to be surprised… and it won't be pleasant.**__ What do you mean? You mean the arm, don't you? Kyuubi? Kyuubi? KUSO!_

"Naruto, wake up! Why isn't he waking up? Tsunade…"

"I don't KNOW, DAMN IT! For all I know he won't ever wake up…"

"Don't say that…"

"Now, you lay back and rest."

"No! Naruto-kun will wake up! He never gives up!"

"You're right… but…"

"Shut up, 'm tired…"

"Naruto!" Three incredibly loud voices and one soft one filled his ears as he lay in what he assumed was a hospital bed. He opened his eyes, or the one that he could open. The other was covered, but if Naruto remembered the last fight correctly… then it wasn't there anyway… wait… what was he doing resting? He hadn't checked in on his team yet. He tried to sit up, but didn't have the strength. His arm was in a cast, which he had expected. He remembered it vividly. Shoving one wind rasengan into Orochimaru and then another into Madara Uchiha. He had felt his arm break on the first one and the second one… he knew that what Tsunade had told him before about what would happen if he used it again had happened. Naruto knew the consequences when he made the decision to use it.

"I said be quiet, you would think people who were trained to care for others would know to keep it down." Naruto was using a much softer voice then was normal for him, it was scary to see him without the usual energy.

"Naruto…"

"How is the team, Tsunade…"

"They all survived, though some with worse injuries then others. Lee managed to escape with only a few cuts and was the main reason why Neji and Hinata are alive. They defeated their opponent, but were poisoned in the fight. Lee brought them both back, along with a sample of the poison and they survived, though Hinata will be staying with us for a while…"

"Damn… she ok?"

"Yeah, but she had taken a lot of poison when she threw herself in the path of projectiles aimed for Neji. She had almost twice the poison he did."

"That's Hinata for you. She is stronger of heart then anyone else I know." Naruto heard a loud thump from his left. "What was that?"

"That was Hinata passing out and falling out of her bed."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, the hospital was full so we put you in her room. She doesn't take compliments very well, especially from people she respects."

"Well, when she wakes up, give her my thanks. The rest of my team?"

"Kiba and Shino survived with multiple near fatal stab wounds. Kakashi suffered from chakra depletion, as did Jiriya. They are both out of the hospital now…"

"How long was I out?"

"About three weeks."

"Three weeks… why is Hinata still here?"

"It was a… progressive poison. It won't be completely cleaned out for another week or two."

"Oh…"

"Yes, well. Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji all had multiple gashed, bone fractures, and various other issues. Ten-ten survived… barely… we don't know if she will ever be able to use her left arm again." Naruto cringed at that. He never wanted something like that, her weapons were her life…

"Ah, yes… That covers it."

"What about the girl I brought back?"

"Besides having multiple bruises and a case of amnesia, not uncommon for torture victims, she is fine. In fact, she was bouncing down the hallway just a while ago… who was she?"

"The only survivor in the Akatsuki prison."

"Well, she is doing fine, she says she wants to meet the man who saved her. She doesn't have a name, but I have never seen such a cute little girl. She is like you, bouncing around with all the energy people her age can have. Do you want to see her?"

"Not… right now. How about me?" Tsunade was silent, and even though Naruto couldn't actually see anyone else in the room, he knew they were trading looks. Hinata choose that time to wake up.

"N…Naruto-kun… I am glad you are feeling better…"

"Thanks… Hinata… so, Tsunade. I disobeyed you. Now I get to accept the consequences of my actions, right?"

"…right."

"N…Naruto-kun… what do you mean?"

"Worst case scenario?"

"Hai."

"Figures… you know, the damn fox died."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Died after the last fight."

"Who are you talking about, N…Naruto-kun?"

"Naruto, I demand to know what you are talking about! Tsunade kept your records top secret, no one knows what is wrong with you except apparently you and Tsunade!"

"Sakura... you know… Sasuke was there… at the end…"

"What?"

"I… killed him… they are all dead now…"

"You… you killed…"

"Killed with a wind rasengan…" Sakura just stared at him, tears running down her face. Naruto couldn't bare to tell her that when he was killed, Orochimaru had been in control._ Let her keep her heroes… that is more important…_ Sakura asked to be excused before walking out of the room in a daze. When she left, it was Shizune that spoke up.

"Wait… wind… you didn't! She said to…"

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH NARUTO-KUN?" Naruto could sense all of his friends turn to stare at Hinata, who had never spoken that loudly before. "N…Naruto-kun… you're Ok, right? You're always… ok…"

"Hinata, calm down." Tsunade's voice cracked a little.

"Ba-chan, what… is… wrong with me. I want to hear you say it."

"Naruto… your arm… it wasn't just broken… kuso... damn brat, I told you to never use that again, DAMN IT!" Tsunade was in tears. "It… it…"

"I can't use chakra in my right arm now, can I?"

"…No." Her answer stunned everyone in the room. Shizune and Hinata stared at the hero. Naruto not able to use jutsu? Not able to use rasengan? Not able to be the ninja that had been destined to be the next Hokage? Limited to taijutsu for… how long?

"T…Tsunade-sama, you… wha…. how long will he be like that?" Naruto was the one who answered.

"Forever."

* * *

The next day found Naruto still laying in his bed next to Hinata. Visitors came and went, everyone saying how great of a hero he was and how great of a Hokage he will be. Even a few counsel members, including Hiashi Hyuga, had come to visit. Hiashi had actually been visiting his daughter to tell her he was sorry for ever calling her weak, but on his way out he had said a quiet arigato to Naruto. Hinata, on the other hand, was still crying. After he had explained what had happened to his arm she hadn't stopped crying for an instant except the few moments after she woke up. Naruto couldn't think of anything to calm her sadness, for he had nothing to calm his own. They just lay there, never speaking, watching people come and go, none knowing the damage done. None knowing that Naruto had fought his last fight as a jonin, and promotion was not in the future. None knowing that they were complimenting the one who had killed the last Uchiha.

Naruto was sitting up in bed and greeting visitors with a half smile that was, obviously, fake. Hinata was trying to pretend to be asleep, but anyone who looked carefully could see a sob wrack her body every few minutes. After the last visitor of the day left Naruto turned to look at Hinata._ Why is she doing this, what have I done. I don't like seeing people cry over me, but Hinata… she never deserved to cry ever. She is the kindest person of the rookie nine by far and somehow… I hurt her. Kuso…_

"Hinata, please, stop crying."

"I…I'm not crying…"

"Yes, you are. I can see you from here." Hinata turned to face Naruto by rolling over in her bed. Her eyes were swollen and red and tears were still flowing from her pearlescent eyes. It was a heartbreaking sight, even Shino would have tried to comfort her. Naruto gave her the biggest fake smile he could manage.

"Naruto-kun… I know that's not a real smile…" Naruto's smile went back to the emotionless expression that covered his face when no one was looking. "You… you saved us… you saved us all, N…Naruto-kun. A…and you… gave up your dream for us… why? I… we… no one deserved it! This city has treated you horribly since the day you were born! I know! I saw! Why would you give up your dream of becoming Hokage to save people like us…" She couldn't continue as fresh tears and sobs forced her to place her head into her pillow.

"Hinata. I gave it up… because I knew that that is what I would have to do as Hokage. I sacrificed being a great ninja so that my village, and the individuals in it, could be safe. My dream of becoming Hokage was over the second I accepted that mission. I knew that if I refused the mission, I would not be worthy of the Hokage position, but if I took it I would have a large chance of either dieing or being forced to use that jutsu. I sacrificed everything, because that is what the Third did, that is what the Forth did, and because if I didn't… I would be less then trash. Don't blame yourself… please… and don't cry for me. Live your life, Hinata, because I gave it all for that cause. So that my village could live in peace."

"N…Naruto-kun… I… want to tell you… I… I…"

"Hey! Hinata and Naruto. Still stuck in here?" The door had slammed open letting in last minute visitors before the hospital closed. Kiba and Shino stood there, interrupting Hinata in her moment of being able to tell Naruto… what she needed to tell him. Naruto put on his big, fat, fake smile again.

"Shino, Kiba! Good to see you alive."

"I wish I could say the same for you, but I have a bone to pick with you. You know I got stabbed over twenty times in the fight and Shino took a couple hundred senbon in the gut? Couldn't you have, oh, you know, given us a little back up?"

"Do you agree, Shino?"

"…We were able to defeat the criminal and survive. I have few complaints…"

"Well, then, Kiba. Let's just say I had confidence in your abilities."

"Yeah, whatever. Both of you need to get better, and Hinata?"

"H…Hai?"

"I don't want you doing anything funny because you two are in the same room. I know we can trust Naruto, but you…"

"…Kiba, you made her faint again…"

"Hehe, she is so easy to tease…"

"Don't tease Hinata. She was closer to death then both of you."

"Yeah, we know. You weren't too healthy yourself. A busted arm and no left eye. You should get a replacement…"

"I have one… it was given to me… by a friend…"

"Really? Who would give up an eye?"

"A dieing person…"

"But… no one died…"

"Sasuke… was there… with them at the end…"

"You… you killed him?"

"Hai." Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Naruto… we heard a rumor…"

"Shino, he probably doesn't want to talk about it."

"No, it's ok, go ahead Shino."

"Tsunade was debriefing us and she said something about your arm before going silent and telling us to forget what she had said."

"Yeah?"

"We won't tell anyone… but… your arm… it isn't just broken, is it?" Naruto's smile slipped and he turned his face away from his friends.

"No… it isn't… I don't really want to talk about it, ok?"

"Ok. Heal quickly." Shino left with Kiba at his heels. Naruto sighed. Hinata was still unconscious, so he figured he would just sleep.

* * *

Hinata and Naruto never had a chance to finish their talk. Naruto was moved to an empty room so that Hinata would have more privacy. He spent most of his time staring out the window at the Hokage monument, thinking about how, at one time, he had known, without a doubt, that his face would be up there. Now, at the young age of 16, his dream had shattered. Or, to put it in more correct terms, he had given it up. Tsunade had given in to Naruto's request to implant the eye she found in the scroll. He had it covered by bandages now, and eventually would cover it up at all times. His only visitor for days was the little girl he had saved. She had no name, or at least no name she could remember. She would often come into his room. Like now.

"Otou-san?"

"It's Naruto."

"Otou-san?"

"It's Naruto."

"Otou-san?" Naruto sighed.

"Yes?" The girl would then run in, giggling at the "otou-san" she had adopted for herself. She had hair not as blond as Naruto's, more golden then anything. A shimmering light brownish blond. But, despite the hair color, she was exactly like Naruto had been at that age. She would climb on his bed and jump up and down, asking him to read her a story or play a game with her. When he finally calmed her down he would tell her about previous missions he had had, leaving out gruesome parts. She would stare at him, wide eyed, as he told her about Zabuza. She would jump around in victory when she heard his tale of learning the rasengan. She would gasp when he told her how he had fought his best friend in the valley of the end.

"Otou-san? What is a friend?"

"A friend is someone you care for and want to be happy."

"Can I have friends?"

"Sure, I know a very good one that is staying right down the hall."

"Hinata-okaa-san?"

"You met her?" Naruto was a little surprised at Hinata's name suffix, but if that was what the little girl thought…

"Yeah! She is the nicest person in the whole world. She cries a lot, though. It makes me sad to see her cry."

"Well, tell her Naruto said not to cry, ok?"

"Ok!" With that, the girl was off at a speed rivaling a ninja. A minute later he heard a loud thump. The little girl ran back into his room.

"I told her, but she fell down."

"What did you say to her?"

"I said, "Okaa-san, Naruto-otou-san says not to cry, ok?" and then she stared at me for a second before falling down." Naruto smiled. The little girl had known idea what she had just implied to Hinata.

"Next time, you can just tell her that Naruto said it. Not otou-san."

"Why, otou-san?"

"Because… well… you will find out when you're older."

"Ano… ok, otou-san."

"Good, so do you want to play a game?"

"Haaaaiiiiii!!!"

* * *

Naruto was out of the hospital only a week later, and, after getting himself some ramen, was the honored guest at an award ceremony. He had never been awarded anything before, and never in front of the entire village. His entire team stood on the balcony the Hokage used to address the villagers. Tsunade stood in front of them.

"People of Konoha. As most of you probably know, almost a month ago our village sent an elite team of sennin, jonin, and chunin into the headquarters of the dreaded Akatsuki. They returned in victory, defeating Konoha's greatest enemies in the process. Not only did they defeat a total of seven Akatsuki members, S-ranked criminals of the highest degree, but they also managed to defeat the most hated enemy of all. Orochimaru is now dead along with his apprentice and s-ranked missing ninja, Sasuke Uchiha. That brings the total of enemies destroyed to six ninja of sennin level, and three of kage level. Each member of the team should be shown the utmost honor for their deeds, as not one of them escaped unharmed." Applause. The crowd roared in joy at the destruction of their enemies.

"There is one ninja in particular who you all must thank. The ninja was the one who personally and single handedly took on the three kage level ninja, including Orochimaru. He was the one that ended the threat of the Akatsuki and of the snake. That ninja… is now gone." The other members of his team that had not heard about his arm all looked over at Naruto, who certainly appeared to be there. The people in the crowd were silent, thinking a hero was dead.

"No, he isn't dead. The ninja I speak of is none other then Naruto Uzumaki. He stands right there… Now, before I go on, I have one thing to say. Naruto Uzumaki, as most of the elder generation know, is different from other ninja. Ask anyone he has ever fought, ask the lifeless skull of Orochimaru. Naruto Uzumaki was cursed from birth. I have official released the S-ranked secret, and I intend to inform everyone about Naruto Uzumaki's… last battle."

"Naruto Uzumaki is unique. He was born on the very day that the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked Konoha, killing hundreds of shinobi. The Forth Hokage gave up his life to defeat the Kyuubi, all this is common knowledge. But the truth is that the Forth wasn't able to kill the Kyuubi. He defeated it by sealing it into a child, the only child born on that day, Naruto Uzumaki, his own son." The people in the crowd were silent, no one had known that this was the Forth's son. All of Naruto's friends stared at him while he stared forward.

"The son of the Forth Hokage contained the soul of the Kyuubi no Kitsune for sixteen years… up until a month ago. Naruto has informed me that, after defeating the Akatsuki, he had completely drained the Kyuubi of its chakra, causing it to perish. Now, many in this city might not care. Many have treated Naruto like shit since he was born, claiming he was the demon himself, not trusting the Forth to do his job. You made me sick, and still do. But even now, Naruto has protected you. He protected the entire village, and gave up any chance he had of achieving his lifelong goal of becoming Hokage to do it! In the last fight, Naruto used a jutsu he had created to improve upon one the Forth made. He knew what it would do to him if he used it, but he still did, just to protect this village! Naruto Uzumaki should be the next Hokage, but due to the circumstances around his injuries, he has voluntarily been demoted to chunin…" Everyone in the entire city gasped, his friends stood next to him with jaws hung open. "Because he is no longer able to use chakra in his right arm. Because of this… Naruto Uzumaki… the son of the Forth Hokage, gave up his ninja career to save you… all of you, even the bastards that beat him as a child." Tsunade was crying as she spoke. "So take advantage of it! Konoha's worst enemies are gone, the Kyuubi is dead, and peace is here again, all thanks to Naruto Uzumaki!" The crowd was silent for a few seconds. Suddenly, though, the voice of a little girl broke the silence. It was the girl he had saved, she was sitting on the shoulders of Kakashi.

"Yeah! Otou-san is the greatest!" She clapped for him, and, slowly, the rest of the crowd joined in. Soon the entire village was filled with tears of joy, applause, cheers, and celebration. There wasn't one person who didn't clap for Naruto Uzumaki. But up on the platform, his friends were crying for another reason.

"Naruto… why?"

"Naruto, your fire of youth… it out shines the sun."

"I… sorry guys… it's not like I'm dead, so stop the tears."

"But, your dreams…"

"What dreams? The reason why I wanted to be Hokage was so I could protect my friends, and I did that."

"But…"

"Oh, be quiet everyone. I don't plan on giving up everything. I plan on becoming an expert in taijutsu, like Lee here. If that is all I can do, then I will do my best at it. I never give up, that's my nindo."

"Yeah, and we will help you!"

"…What are friend's for?"

"Thanks, guys." Naruto smiled a small real smile. Everyone smiled back. There was one girl on the edge of the group that was determined to help to her fullest.

"N…Naruto-kun… I… I…"

"Hey, Hinata! I said stop crying, you just got proclaimed a hero in front of everyone, doesn't that make you happy?" Hinata jumped up and turned to actually face Naruto. Kiba was behind him, silently puckering his lips and acting like he was going to kiss Naruto. Hinata blushed. Naruto, who had no idea what was going on behind him, just sighed to himself._ Some things just never change._

AN: Sad intro, I know. But here is the deal, why was the girl alive in the Akatsuki prison? Think about that while I work on Blind. Why is this fic called Chaos? Why did I title the chapter as I did? And what will come of calling Naruto dad and Hinata mom? Find out as this fic continues….


	2. Changes of Time

AN: Alright, first update to Chaos! Please note the time skip, this chapter will be mostly explaining what has happened and the characters now. I hope you enjoy the first actual chapter of Chaos.

Chapter 1: Changes of Time

Naruto Uzumaki walked down the streets of Konoha with a smile on his face and his hands in his pockets. Every once and a while a person would pass by and say a kind hello, to which Naruto always responded in kind. He walked right past the ramen stand he had once ate every meal at, giving a fond wave to the old man who ran it and his daughter. He whistled a tune as he walked through the village. It was a beautiful day. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, large fluffy clouds that wouldn't produce rain flew lazily through the sky, and Naruto had just returned from another mission, a success as usual.

The simple C and B missions Tsunade was giving him he did single handedly these days, which was good, because he didn't have a team anyway. _Six years changes things…_

Naruto Uzumaki had grown up in the six years since the destruction of the Akatsuki and Orochimaru. Now, at the still young age of twenty two, he was over six foot tall and more muscular. Of course, the muscles came from his training. Lee and Naruto had grown to be close friends over the past six years and Naruto had learned many things from him, ways to train, ways to fight, how to win without ninjutsu or genjutsu. It had been an uphill battle, but only one year ago Naruto had regained his jonin status using only taijutsu and left handed rasengans.

Left handed rasengans were all he managed to come by. Everything else he did, besides putting chakra into his legs, came from pure physical ability. It had been difficult to relearn the rasengan… especially without the aid of kage bunshins, but he had done it. Ninjutsu was out of his abilities now, not able to put chakra into his right arm meant hand signs were meaningless. Actually, they were worse then meaningless. He had once, in the weeks after the incident, forgotten his injury and attempted to summon a frog. He had been put in the hospital for days due to the pain; causing him to not be able to sleep for days. To put it mildly, attempting ninjutsu had almost killed him. The pain had been similar to having his arm on fire, frozen, being stuck with needles, cut off, made to explode, and being crushed at the same time. It had been so much pain he thought that he should have died, or at least passed out, but unconsciousness did not grace him until the fourth day. He had learned that lesson the hard way.

But that was behind him. He had come to accept his limitations. No longer being nearly invincible due to the Kyuubi forced him to learn how to dodge. No longer being able to use his best jutsu forced him to become a master of taijutsu. No longer being able to become Hokage based on his previous power made him create a new power, a new Naruto, that had a chance at becoming Hokage. He used to claim that he would be the youngest Hokage ever, but his new saying was that he would be the first Hokage with only one ninjutsu and nothing else but taijutsu. Originally, though, that had not been his plan…

* * *

_Naruto trudged home from the training grounds. He had been given his inheritance as the Hokage's son, so he could afford an actual "home", not the apartment he had heard compared to a closet with a bathroom. His trademark smile no longer graced his face, but it wasn't exactly a frown either. He had just finished learning how to open the first gate, but after learning the principles behind it, learned that it would most likely put him in the hospital for months. The chakra would probably cause his arm to explode…_

_Naruto passed by the ramen stand, knowing that he had to actually make something healthy to eat. He smiled a little at the thought. If there had been one thing about his new life that he loved, it was her. The little girl he had saved from the Akatsuki had been told that she would be sent to an orphanage, which, naturally, caused her to cry. Naruto had been there, being that he was the only person she really knew besides Hinata and "Kakashi-oji-san". _

_And everyone knew how crying girls made Naruto feel. Tears in general needed to be stopped at every turn, they were worse enemies to Naruto then the Akatsuki had been. So… he had told Tsunade that he would take care of her. This, of course, caused the girl to jump around in joy and Tsunade to smile, which made Naruto realize that his response was exactly what she had wanted from him. So now Naruto was the proud adopted father of a eight year old girl, and he was just eighteen. The girl's name had been decided by both her and Tsunade. And so, Naruto Uzumaki was now the parental guardian of Momoko Uzumaki. _

_He had learned early on that having a kid was a lot of responsibility. But with the help from various kind people, such as Hinata and Kakashi, he had learned to keep a good house. Whenever he was on a mission he would leave Momo with Hinata or, only rarely, Kakashi. He just didn't need to explain to Momo why her adopted uncle had books containing images of naked women and men in interesting poses. No, that would be very…__** very**__... bad…_

_He found himself in front of the house he had been given by the city, telling him that it had been his father's. It felt more like a home then anywhere else he had ever been. Even more so with Momoko there. Naruto opened the door, expecting to be attacked by the girl he had come to think of as his daughter. Instead, he found Momo asleep with her head in Hinata's lap. Naruto smiled wearily, after a long day of learning how to do something and then finding out that using it could kill him… well, he needed sights like this. Hinata looked up at him with a small blush. She had been getting better at that, he had noticed. Sometimes, when Hinata had no training or missions and Naruto was out, Hinata would come over to keep Momo company. He knew Momoko enjoyed having another girl around and was very happy every time she came over._

"_Naruto-kun, welcome back!"_

"_Thank you, Hinata. I was training late… though it wasn't very helpful…" Hinata's smile dropped when she saw Naruto's frown. He never used to frown._

"_Naruto-kun, wha…what do you mean?"_

"_I spent all day having Lee teach me how to open the gates, but only after I had learned how and was about to practice did he bother to tell me what they actually did…"_

"_Oh…"_

"_Yeah… a whole day wasted…"_

"_N…Naruto-kun, the day wasn't wasted. You learned something, right?"_

"_Yeah… I guess. Damn, it was so much easier when I had a goal to get to and a way to get there, you know?"_

"_Ano… m…my goal has n…never had a way to get to it…"_

"_Huh? Must be hard to achieve, then."_

"_Y…you have no idea…"_

"_Huh?"_

"_Nothing… Naruto-kun."_

"_Sometimes I wish I could turn back time…" Naruto had walked over to the couch his daughter slept on. He ran his hand through her hair and smiled. "But then I wouldn't have her, would I?"_

"_N…Naruto-kun, you are a very good father."_

"_You think so? I still think you would be a very good mother." Hinata blushed at the compliment. "I don't even know if I will ever be strong enough to reach jonin again. I don't even know if I want to reach it again…"_

"_Don't say that, Naruto-kun! Just because you can't use ninjutsu anymore doesn't mean anything!"_

"_What?"_

"_Naruto-kun, you told me once to never give up! It is your nindo, you said, the way you live your life. Your goal was to become Hokage, so be Hokage."_

"_But…"_

"_No buts. Naruto-kun, you once went around telling everyone that you would be Hokage. You told everyone you ever met, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I am going to be Hokage one day!" It didn't matter that you held the fiercest demon in the world in your stomach. It didn't matter that you could barely do a bunshin or a henge. It didn't even matter that half the population hated you. You were going to become Hokage. Why should this stop you? Instead of becoming the first Hokage with a demon inside of you, now you have the privilege and challenge of becoming the first Hokage with only one jutsu to his name! All of your friends believe in you, Momo would believe you could go to hell and kill the death god, and I know you can do it."_

"_Hinata…"_

"_Here, I'll make you a promise. If you promise me you won't give up on your dream… then I promise I won't give up on m… mine."_

"_Hinata. I…"_

"_Otou-san?" Momoko was waking up. All the talking had brought her out of her beautiful dreams where her and her otou-san and okaa-san lived in a house in the woods and they had picnics in fields with flowers all around her… it was heaven. She had a younger sister and they all lived happily. "Otou-san… I had a good dream."_

"_What kind of dream, Momo?"_

"_A good one, with you and okaa-san and me and we were happy… I'm tired…" Naruto smiled and picked the little girl up in his arms and took her to her bed where he tucked her in. His face was serene, but his mind was in turmoil. Everything Hinata had said had made sense. She was right… no, she wasn't just right, she was absolutely flawless. Naruto had a burning desire to smack himself upside the head. Where had his dreams gone? Why had he just given up? Why hadn't he been working towards becoming a jonin and then more? Why did it take the woman who his daughter loved as a mother and he thought of as one of his best friends to drive it into him how much he had changed for the worse._

"_Hinata."_

"_Yes, N… Naruto-kun?"_

"_You're right. I don't know what I have been doing for two years mourning over the loss of my jutsu… this isn't like me, is it?" He turned to face Hinata, who was still on his couch. "I used to be the crazy kid who could and would accomplish anything. I beat a Hyuga prodigy, I beat a demon, I fought with the three legendary sennin, I defeated the Akatsuki and Orochimaru in the same day. If I could do all that… why can't I be Hokage? So, yes, I will take you up on your deal. I will accomplish my dream and you will accomplish your, it is that simple. You won't give up and neither will I, ok?" Hinata smiled at him, the biggest and most meaningful smile he had seen from her in two years._

"_Hai!"_

* * *

Naruto finally reached the gates of the Hyuga complex. The day was indeed a good one. After the guards determined that he was, indeed, Naruto Uzumaki, they opened the gate. He knew where he was heading. Hinata and Momo would often be found in the official Hyuga training grounds, practicing with kunai and shurikin. As he entered the area he was forced catch a kunai that was rebounding off of one of the most amazing and weird moves he had ever seen. If there was one thing Naruto thought of Hinata besides the obvious "kind and peaceful", it was weird. She reminded him of a much quieter and shy himself. She had invented the jutsu he was watching at work all by herself to prove to herself and her family that she wasn't weak. No, Hinata wasn't weak. She could hold up her version of the "perfect defense" for much longer then a kaiten could be held, and she could attack with it, too. But, even the strengths of the attack could not draw attention away from the fact that it looked like she was just swinging her arms around like windmills… it made Naruto laugh every time he saw it. 

"Hey, Hinata, Neji. Hold your fire." Naruto walked over as Neji stopped his assault on Hinata's Protection of the Eight Trigrams: Sixty Four Palms, holding the last kunai as Hinata's arms slowed to a stop before she turned to Naruto. She had grown into a woman, her hair reached down to below her waist. Her ninja outfit was still conservative, but less so then her previous ones. She wore mostly black, loose fitting clothes, that hid her figure. Naruto had no idea why she would do so, he had watched her go swimming with Momoko once and the result had given Naruto a nose bleed… something that he was deeply embarrassed about to that day. After all, a guy getting a nose bleed from his best friend…

Naruto, on the other hand, had changed his look a great deal. He wore black pants with many pockets for his weapons. He wore white leg warmers that hid his weights that he wore, thanks to Lee's teaching. They weren't as big as Lee's were, just enough to cover from the ankle to half way to his knee. He also wore weights on his wrists, upper arms, and upper legs, but they were hidden from sight by the rest of his clothes. On his arms, he wore bracers made of leather and metal, capable of stopping katana blades, as Ten-ten had so generously tested in one of their spars. His shirt was as black as his pants, short sleeved and loose enough to not hinder his movement. He wore a jonin's vest over the shirt, replacing the orange and black jacket he had worn until he had become a jonin the second time. The most noticeable change to Naruto's features was the headband that now hung over his left eye at all times. Not even Hinata had seen what was underneath it. She assumed Momo hadn't either.

"Hello, Naruto-kun. What brings you here today?" Naruto froze. Wasn't Momo supposed to be here today? What day was it? Two days ago was… "Naruto-kun?"

"Hinata-san, I think he forgot about the genin exams today." Naruto suddenly remembered exactly what today was. Today was the day Momo took the test to see if she became a genin. She had shown a lot of potential and he knew she could pass. She had shown him her henge and bunshin the day before. Naruto looked quickly at his watch. He had three minutes until the test was over.

"Hey, Hinata. I'll race you to the academy. Loser buys ramen for my daughter." Hinata grimaced. Momo had shown the same love for ramen that Naruto had. And, while he no longer at twenty bowls per sitting, his daughter could race through that much in minutes.

"Ok, you're on." Hinata vanished. Naruto let his mouth hang open as he saw Hinata reappear on a rooftop fifty meters away.

"Hey, no fair! Head start!" Naruto dropped his weights completely and raced after her, not caring as the road behind him was ripped up by his passing.

* * *

"YES! I WON! I WON! I WON! IWON! IWONIWONIWONIWONIWON" 

"Ok, we get it. You got genin, so did we."

"Yeah, I got genin! Oh, there's otou-san and okaa-san. Bye friends!"

"Bye, Momo." Momoko Uzumaki was the epitome of twelve year old beauty. Her long hair was a golden light brown, her eyes were nearly the same color. Her hair today was being held up by a headband with a metal forehead protector. Her pride and joy, the thing she had been training for almost four years for. She had already polished it twice in the few minutes she had had it. Now, she ran over to her two favorite people in the world. Her otou-san, and the woman who wasn't officially her okaa-san, but could have been.

"Otou-san! Okaa-san! I got my headband! I'm a ninja now!" She ran up to Naruto who swung her around before placing her on his shoulders. She giggled. No matter how old she got, it seemed like Naruto would always be able to carry her on his shoulders and she would always like it. She planted her own head on top of his and smiled as his spiky hair, which was actually comfortable, brushed against her chin.

"That's great, Momo! What say we celebrate, eh?"

"YES! RAMEN!"

"Yep, your father said you could get as much as you want." Hinata smiled as Naruto gave a nearly imperceptible groan. It was obvious who had won the race. He had forgoten that the academy was only a block away from the Hyuga manor. Hinata had been there before he had finished removing his weights.

"Hurray! Let's go!" She pointed in the direction of everyone's favorite ramen bar.

"Ok, ok. So you are a ninja now, did they tell you who's team you're on?"

"Nope, they said they would tell me tomorrow. I hope I am on yours, otou-san."

"No luck there, they haven't told me anything about being a jonin instructor yet."

"Momo-chan, even if you aren't on Naruto-kun's team, you might be on mine." Naruto looked over at Hinata. She had become a jonin a year before him. This would be her first team of chunin.

"Really Hinata? You are going to be a jonin instructor?"

"Yes, though if my team doesn't pass my test, I guess not. I find out who is on my team tomorrow. Maybe you will be on it, Momo-chan."

"That would be the greatest thing ever! You are an awesome teacher, okaa-san."

"Thank you, Momo-chan."

"You should marry otou-san, then I wouldn't need to always go over to your place to learn from you."

Naruto tripped and Hinata almost fell on her face. She turned her face away with a bright blush on it. Momo giggled at her and her otou-san. She could see that they liked each other. Hell(naughty girl, cursing at such a young age), okaa-san had once told her when she thought she was asleep that she loved her otou-san as much as she loved her. And she knew okaa-san loved her a lot. And whenever otou-san would hear her talk about okaa-san he would get all glassy eyed and smiled a weird smile. It was almost like the two people who she loved most liked each other but didn't want to tell each other. So, for the past six years, Momo had been working on bringing up their feelings in conversation. It was fun to watch them act like kids. She saw kids in her class act the same way her adopted parents did.

"M…Momo-chan, I… I think…"

"Oh, look, we're here!" Naruto spared Hinata from any more embarrassment and himself from potential rejection with the statement that they had arrived at the ramen stand. Momo giggled as Naruto threw her into the air off of his shoulders and then caught her on the way down. Hinata managed to remove most of the blush from her face as they walked into the stand that hadn't changed one bit. Naruto ordered some ramen for himself, just one bowl because he was paying for three. Momo stood up on her stool and announced to Ayame and the old man that she was now a ninja before ordering the usual. Ayame and the old man smiled at her and her father. The Uzumaki's had literally kept the small stand running for years. They had both watched Naruto grow up, and now his adopted daughter acted exactly like him, except they could tell that she was much slyer, and hardly ever pulled pranks on anyone unless they absolutely deserved it. Bullies at the academy had learned to fear the name Uzumaki.

Ayame looked over at Hinata, expecting an order, what she got was a view of Hinata staring at Momoko and Naruto with a wistful smile on her face. _Damn it, girl. You loved the man since he was seven and now, fifteen years later, you still love him and haven't told him. Good thing you have friends like me and Momo._

Momo had talked a lot about hooking up her okaa-san and otou-san while eating at the ramen bar alone. Ayame had listened to her and had agreed, telling her about how her okaa-san had loved her otou-san for years, but was still too shy. Momo had stared at her with noodles hanging out of her mouth, having never thought of her okaa-san as shy. Powerful, kind, and peace-loving, but never shy. But, she still wouldn't marry otou-san… so Momo and Ayame had agreed that it was their sacred duty to bring the two together.

"What would the proud mother want?" Ayame smiled an evil smile as Hinata went from smiling to blushing and looking away from the two people she loved most.

"Ano… a… I…"

"Gotcha, one special on the house." Ayame walked away about to burst out laughing. There was no such thing as a special, but Hinata didn't know that. There was, on the other hand, a bowl made to be used by two. She filled it with Naruto's order and brought out two pairs of chopsticks. She set it between the two "parents" and then set the chopsticks down.

"Don't forget to share, Naruto."

Naruto stared at Ayame, the old man trying to contain his laughter, his daughter engulfing her third bowl, and then at Hinata, who looked like the heat was getting to her. Was the entire world trying to embarrass him?

* * *

After the delightful dinner the trio took a walk in the park, ending up on the top of the Hokage monument. Naruto loved this spot, and, because he loved it, Hinata and Momoko loved it too. Hinata loved Naruto and everything about Naruto, so how could she not love some place Naruto loved. Momoko loved her otou-san, and she loved the place the same as him. It was a place to enjoy the beauty of the city of Konoha and have some peace amongst the life of a student, and now a ninja. 

They sat there, Naruto and Hinata on either side of Momo, looking out at the sunset and Konoha. It was an awesome sight. If anyone else had seen the trio they would have thought "perfect family". They looked to be perfectly at home with each other, each one had a content smile on their face. Momoko gave out a contented belch. Yep, just like her father. Hinata just giggled at the girl. Naruto half expected to get smacked in the head by Hinata, a habit formed from countless blows to the head by Sakura. Sakura… now there was a name he hadn't bothered to think about in a long time. He heard she was the head medic in the hospital now. That was nice for her. He had seen her every so often walking through the village, but she would ignore him completely. He had stopped trying to talk to her after a while. She would probably never forgive him for killing Sasuke.

Naruto began to think about all of his friends. It was almost comical how they had all gotten paired together exactly as one would have expected. Everyone had seen Shikamaru getting together with Temari, even when he kept saying having a girlfriend was too troublesome. Bold words for a man who now lives in Suna as a permanent diplomat from Konoha and has a one year old boy with blond hair.

Choji and Ino, the pair that no one would have though of. The super skinny beauty nut and the man who would have been ashamed to be seen without a bag of potato chips. True, Choji was now a wall of solid muscle, and Ino had figured out that "paper thin" wasn't attractive, but it was still a shocker when they announced that they were dating. Hinata had said something about butterflies and flowers, but Naruto just laughed at the pair. They were so in love it was funny. She was literally a quarter of his size and weight, but they seemed to be the perfect couple for each other. It really put new meaning to the words "opposites attract".

Lee was dating Sakura from what he told Naruto in their training. Naruto wasn't that interested in the relationship, but figured things were pretty serious went Lee announced that he was considering asking her to marry him. Naruto still cared for Sakura a little, not like a boyfriend or lover, but more like a rejected older brother. He hoped they would be happy if Lee ever got up the courage to ask her. He could rant for hours, and had, about the fires of youth, but went it came to his feelings about women he went mute.

Neji and Ten-ten were pretty involved… Naruto thought. At least Hinata said they were. Neji was as hard to read as a concrete wall in the dark. Hinata said she could read him like a book, and Ten-ten was obviously in love with him. They had gone out on a few dates, according to Hinata and Neji would always come back to the clan's complex with lips slightly redder then when he had left. Naruto couldn't imagine Neji kissing Ten-ten. The girl who tried to take his head off in every battle kissing the guy who was one of the head ANBU in the village. Nope, couldn't see it. Maybe the red was the blood from their spars. Yeah, that made more sense.

Strangely, as much as Hinata talked about Neji's love life, whenever Naruto would ask her who she was interested in she would clam up and blush and stutter. Something that she had never been able to work out of. Naruto liked it though, she was cute when she did that. Naruto's own feelings… well, they were as confusing to himself as they were unapparent to others. He tried not to think about things like who he liked. He had a daughter and a best friend that… he didn't want to lose because he made the relationship uncomfortable for her.

Naruto sneaked a glance at Hinata. She had grown up into a woman, and this was apparent to everyone. Naruto would have taken it a step more and called her a beautiful woman who was an amazing person. Hell, he wouldn't have hesitated to ask the girl on a date if he was still twelve. Now, she was his best friend and the transition from best friend into girlfriend was not one he wanted to tread on yet. Still, if she ever decided to just give him a hint…

Hinata was thinking the same thing, ironically. She hadn't lost any of the love she had felt for Naruto all those years ago. But, while she wasn't exactly content with her current position of "close friend", she was certainly happy that it wasn't "weird acquaintance". She gave a small sigh. There were so many times she just wanted to look him in the eyes and just say, "Naruto Uzumaki, I love you." And then kiss him till she couldn't breathe. At the age of twenty two she still hadn't had her first kiss. She was saving it for Naruto. Naruto, on the other hand, had accidentally kissed one Sasuke Uchiha when he had been twelve. She was willing to overlook that, though.

Momo sat between her two most precious people in the world with a smile on her face. Inside, though, she was groaning at the two and mentally yelling at them to get a grip and tell each other they loved each other and then kiss so she could yell, "Eew, gross!" and then her favorite dreams would come true. But she knew that they should figure it out for themselves or okaa-san might pass out. She did that every once and a while when otou-san was involved. Momo was an intelligent girl, more so then many her age. She never showed it off, though. She liked being the normal girl who was a good ninja, like she had heard her okaa-san was like. She just couldn't do "shy".

The sun was dipping down and out of sight while the makeshift family sat and enjoyed the view and each others company. Each one thinking the same thing. _It's times like this that make life worth living._

AN: So, what do you think? I like this. It is less heavy to write then Blind. More... fluffy... less killing. But both stories need to be shared and I know that this one is going to take a turn towards... the darker side later. But enjoy the lighheartedness while it lasts, ok? Thanks for the reviews.


	3. Teams

AN: Alright, time for another Chaos Update! Hope you all are enjoying it. I really like this story.

Chapter 2: Team

Momoko Uzumaki woke up early the next morning. It was going to be the day she found out the others on her team and her jonin instructor. She rose and showered and dressed in her usual outfit. Unlike her father, she wasn't obsessed with the color orange as a child. She liked all colors, and would throw on weird combinations at random. Sometimes her choices made people laugh at her, but she wasn't laughed at when the people laughing had their mouths filled with dirt. Momoko went down stairs after retrieving her kunai and shurikin and belting them on. At the table sat her otou-san. Naruto Uzumaki was not a morning person. In fact, he had almost picked up on her oji-san's habit of being late everywhere. But okaa-san always made sure that he would show up on time, even if it meant showing up at his house on important days and dragging him out of bed. Or attempting to. Those times were the most likely ones to make okaa-san pass out.

"Momo-chan, you want some breakfast?" Naruto held out a plate with some fruit on it. He had changed his eating habits by necessity when he became the caretaker of the child. Fruit and vegetables were now common place on his table… even when they usually stayed on the table. Momoko grabbed a branch of grapes before picking one off and throwing it at him. He caught it in his teeth, just like always. She never seemed to be able to get one past his defenses. One time she threw ten at him at once and still caught all of them in his mouth.

"Strike!"

"Otou-san, what are you doing today?"

"Well… I don't know. I don't have any missions today, because I just accomplished one yesterday that was relatively simple but B ranked. I am probably just going to go train with Lee-san or Hinata-chan…"

"Ha! Caught you again! Hinata-chan? You like okaa-san!" Momoko stood on her chair in triumph. Naruto sighed.

"Of course I like her, she is my friend."

"But you don't call her chan to her face! I think you love her!" Naruto managed to choke on his water. He coughed a few times.

"Ano… Momo-chan. It really isn't like that…"

"Yeah right. I know what it's like. One of these days you'll just admit what I say is right."

"No, I won't"

"Yes, you will."

"Nope."

"Yep."

"Momo-chan, shouldn't you be going to meet your new team?"

"Oh yeah! I only have five minutes!"

"I'll take you there." Naruto picked up Momo and placed her on his shoulders. This was one thing that she never enjoyed. If she wanted to go somewhere fast, there was no one faster then her otou-san, but at the same time she wondered how he managed to avoid crashing into things. She couldn't even see clearly at his speed.

Naruto removed the weights around his legs before stepping out of his home. He would be back in less then a minute, so he had no reason to lock up. After all, how long did it take to run a mile? Naruto shot off like time had stopped. If he stayed on the road for more then an instant it would crack and be carried along with his momentum, so he jumped a lot. It would take the world around him a second to realize something had passed by at speeds unknown, causing people to look up when the road cracked in half and a strong wind came out of nowhere. Most of the civilians were used to it, and some silently praised him for providing endless jobs for the road repair crew, some of the highest paid civilians in the city since Naruto found his speed.

When he finally came to a stop and pulled Momo off of his shoulders he had to pry her hands out of his hair and smooth her own back out so it looked less like she had been in a hurricane. And people wondered why he never bothered with his hair.

"Alright Momo, work hard and have fun. I'll be around, but you should probably get to know your team. If they want, invite them to dinner tonight at our house, ok?"

"Y…yeah… ok, otou-san." She was still slightly pale. Traveling at her father's speed always left her feeling like her body had been left behind somewhere and she was just a ghost. Somehow, she managed to walk through the doors of the academy. As soon as she left another strong wind came by and Naruto was gone.

* * *

"Iruka-sensei. It is good to see you!"

"Hinata Hyuga, I never thought I would see the day when you became jonin and started teaching my graduates. Not that you weren't strong enough, but you certainly were shy back then. And don't call me Iruka-sensei, Iruka is fine. You are a sensei, too, after all."

"Well, I guess I grew up some. I was told to come here for my team roster. I hear that this is an excellent graduating class this year."

"The only one better was actually your own group. I expect only six of the graduates to actually pass their jonin's test, one less team then your own. Here you are."

"Hm… oh, good. Momoko is on my team. And these others are… oh? This is a very interesting team you have here."

"Hm? Oh, yes. Momoko Uzumaki was in the upper half of her class and I would say has more potential then her father did. But, then again, I thought Sasuke Uchiha was going to be the next Forth. At the very least I would rate her as a great potential ninja, maybe not prodigy. The second one on the team is an interesting one, to be sure. Haimaru is the second son of the new clan head of the Inuzukas. You would know him as Kiba Inuzuka's nephew. He is a near carbon copy of his uncle, but a little more cautious. A good ninja also, probably has potential if you train him hard enough. The last one… well, if Momoko is like Naruto, this boy is like you. Shy as you were, and that is no exaggeration. Shisui had the best grades in the class, but didn't do so well in kunai, shurikin, fighting, jutsu… he basically was an intelligent kid who would freeze up in situations where people would be watching him."

"Sounds familiar. And yet I have never heard this name before… who is he?"

"A transfer from Kirigakure. Well… not so much a transfer. He basically was abandoned at birth by his family and was picked up by some ninjas from Konoha on a mission. As it would turn out, he has an interesting blood line that was said to have gone out of existence a long time ago. It is kind of… odd, and that is why he likes to remain hidden."

"Really? What is it?"

"Shikotsumyaku. It was supposed to be unique to the Kaguya clan, which died out when they attacked Kirigakure a long time ago. Apparently one of the woman of the clan survived and married, or was taken as a slave, but when the child was born and found to contain the blood line that his mother only carried without being able to use… well, the land of Mist is famous for its intolerance of Kekkei Genkai."

"What does it do?"

"It has something to do with bones, but he never shows it to anyone. You'll have to get him to show you."

"Interesting. A girl I love as a daughter, a boy who will remind me of my old team, and a wild card ninja. It seems like either they will get along well or they will break apart at once."

"Don't worry about that. After the team seven incident of so long ago we have taken to putting people we know will compliment each other together. Momoko and Shisui are friends from what we can tell and Momoko has helped Haimaru with his kunai throwing multiple times."

Hinata smiled. Go figure, Momoko would find the shyest person to make friends with. She was an amazing girl, always doing the unexpected.

"Alright, so when will I be able to meet them."

"Well, I would say a few minutes. I need to go in there and tell them their teams. You have team 8, again."

"Go figure." Hinata smiled at the irony. Iruka entered the room to calm the class down. As soon as the door was about to shut a blur of color shot past Hinata with a, "Hiokaa-sanbyeokaa-san!" and then the door closed. Hinata knew who it had been. After a few minutes the noise had calmed down.

Hinata walked into the class room and looked at the small group of twelve people.

"Team eight, you have ten minutes to get to training ground 8. Don't be late." Hinata disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Oh yes. She was going to enjoy this.

* * *

Hinata sat on top of a training post watching the birds fly through the air. Her team still had a good five minutes to get there. The last person she expected to see at training ground eight was directly below her, doing his three thousandth spinning round house to the log. She didn't mind if he used the training ground until her team got there, and had told him that. She had not mentioned that his daughter was in her group yet.

"Phew. Man, three thousand is a lot more then you think. Hey, Hinata?"

"Hm?" She wasn't looking at him, mainly because he had no shirt on and she knew if she saw him like that… with the sweat glistening off of his muscles… that she wouldn't be able to do anything the rest of the day without the image constantly popping up into her head.

"Are you… doing anything tonight?" Hinata almost lost her balance and fell off the stump.

"Wha... I mean, no."

"Well, I just wanted to know if you wanted to… I don't know… do something?"

"Like what?" Hinata was desperately trying to contain the excitement she was feeling. It sounded like he was asking her on a date, but she didn't want to get her own hopes up.

"Oh, I don't know. I… I was kind of planning to fix dinner for Momo's team, but after I am finished with that… ano… how about taking a walk. Just you and me."

"L…like a date?"

"Ano…"

"Sure, I'll come. And I'll even help you fix dinner for my team."

"You don't have to do… wait…"

"Hai. Momo-chan is on my team."

"Really? That's great! There isn't another person I would trust Momo-chan more with. Except maybe Tsunade, but only on sober days. I never worry when she is with you." Hinata blushed. She still wasn't looking down at Naruto, but if she did look down he would see her blush. She had a date!

"Well, I guess I should head off somewhere. It looks like your team is almost here."

"Hai. See you tonight, Naruto-kun…"

"Sure, see you tonight Hinata-chan." He was gone before she had a chance to react to the honorific he had never given her before. Behind her she felt the presences of three young ninja and heard them as they sprinted into the clearing. Only one minute early.

"About time."

"Okaa-san!"

"That's Hinata-sensei. Now." Hinata stood up on the log and jumped down in front of the three. "Let's start with some introductions. Have a seat, all of you." Her students sat. Momoko was as happy as usual, and looked like she was ready to train, not to sit. The two boys in her team were a different matter. The Inuzuka looked bored out of his mind, and the only thing keeping him awake was the dog sitting on his head. It reminded her of Akamaru in his youth, but this dog was black, not white. The last boy was everything she expected. Pale skin, black hair, pale blue eyes, and a disposition that said he would rather read a book then kill an enemy. But then… so would Hinata.

"Alright. My name is Hinata Hyuga. You may call me Hinata-sensei or sensei. I enjoy spending time with my friends and loved ones. I dislike people who judge others by looks or put people down. My dreams… well, you don't really need to know that. Now, let's start with Momoko. Name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams. Go."

"My name is Momoko Uzumaki, but you all know that anyway. I like my otou-san and Hinata-sensei, who I usually get to call okaa-san even though she isn't married to otou-san." Her friends stared strangely at the two females in the group. Explanations were probably in order. "I mean, I was an orphan and otou-san adopted me and Hinata-sensei is his best friend and is like a mom to me. Whatever. Oh, I like ramen too. I don't like bullies and people who think they are better then everyone else. My hobbies are flower pressing and training. My dream is to be an awesome ninja like otou-san!" Momoko sat down after she was done because she had jumped to her feet to say her name. The Inuzuka went next.

"I'm Haimaru Inuzuka. I like dogs, especially my pal here, Gin. I don't like people who don't like dogs. My hobbies are training with Gin and finding new things with my nose. My dream is to grow up and help my older brother rule the clan."

"My name is Shisui… I like my friends. I don't like people who always want to fight. My hobbies are reading and watching clouds… I don't have a dream…"

"Well team. It looks like you all know each other at least. Momoko, is there something you want to tell them?"

"Oh yeah! Otou-san says you are all invited to our house for dinner!"

"Yes, you are. I will be there as well. Until then, though, I suggest you do some training. Tomorrow I expect you to be here at eight, don't be late. You will be tested one last time to see if you are worthy enough to become genin." Two of the three went wide eyed while the last one just raised his eye brows.

"But sensei, I thought we already became genin."

"Yeah, I have this neat forehead protector to prove it!"

"Momoko, Haimaru. That was merely a preliminary test. If you do not meet my expectations I have been told to send you back to the academy."

"Sensei, would you really do that?"

"A team of genin that aren't prepared to be genin will only bring trouble in missions. If you aren't ready for this position now then you have a good chance of dieing on your first C or B mission. I have no reason to risk your lives in a team when I can easily send you back to the safe academy for more training in hopes that you will be ready the next time a test comes up." The three looked at her with thoughtful expressions. What she had said made sense. Momoko jumped to her feet again.

"Well, it doesn't really matter because we ARE ready to be genin. So come tomorrow, Shisui, Haimaru and I are going to pass your test and prove we are ready for this!" Haimaru nodded, Shisui let slip a small, almost imperceptible smile. He dropped his smile at the next order.

"Very well, we will see. You two, go train in somewhere else. I need to talk with Shisui alone." Momoko and Haimaru glanced at Shisui before waving and heading back towards another training ground. Hinata sat across from Shisui and he was looking at the ground. Hinata sighed.

"You know… Shisui. I was exactly like you once. I was the shiest one in my class, one of the weakest actually. I don't think you are weak, though. You see my eyes?"

"Hai."

"I have a blood line, the same as you. If you do happen to pass the test tomorrow with those two then I am going to have to know about your blood line. So here, lets trade."

"Nani?"

"My blood line is called Byakugan. I can see in all directions at once, sometimes for miles. I can see the chakra systems of every living thing and the tenketsu that allow chakra out of bodies. I can see through solid objects. But with all that… I am not strong."

"What?"

"Strength doesn't come from a blood line ability. Strength comes from the heart. You said you like your friends."

"Hai."

"Would you do anything for them?"

"…Hai."

"That is what strength comes from. If people call you weird or a freak because you possess a special way of protecting and helping you friends, then they are bakas. All a Kekkei Genkai is, is a way to fight for your friends. A weapon that you can use to help you help others. Using it in any other way is a disgrace. So… what does this… Shikotsumyaku allow you to do?"

"… I can do strange things with my bones."

"Really? Like what?"

"They repair instantly. I… I have read about others with my abilities and know that when I become better with it I will be able to remove them from my body to use as weapons. Stories tell of people being able to control the bones to the extent that they could make them grow out of their bodies in instants to block attacks. All these stories tell of them as evil people… but I do not want for others to look at me and think that I am evil because I have the same abilities."

"No one on this team will consider you evil. Momoko is your friend at least. And if Haimaru isn't yet, he will soon be. That is, if you pass the test. Now, go and find those two and start training yourself with your blood line and also without it. A ninja who relies on one thing only will only lose when they find someone with a counter. You need to be balanced with multiple styles of taijutsu, weapons fighting, and ninjutsu. I can tell that you will excel in those areas." Shisui smiled at her before nodding and running off. "And tell them to be at Naruto's house at seven!"

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki had the doors locked and the windows closed and the curtains drawn. When Hinata came knocking he had to unbolt the door five times before being able to open it. When she saw him she understood why. Naruto Uzumaki was wearing an apron and had a duster in his hand. Hinata just stared at him through the door with her hand over her mouth. Naruto grabbed her arm and pulled her inside before slamming the door shut again.

"Yeah, Yeah. I know. Ok, so I am cleaning the house in an apron."

"An apron that is pink with flowers on it." Hinata was about to lose it.

"I don't have any other aprons!" Hinata couldn't help it as she burst into giggles. Naruto gave her a pout that was more at home on his twelve year old self before starting to laugh with her. He took off the apron before going into the kitchen.

"Alright Hinata. Because you laughed at my cleaning outfit, you get to finish cleaning and I'll cook."

"Naruto, I remember when you couldn't cook anything but instant ramen."

"Hai, but you taught me. So now the apprentice surpasses the mast…OUCH! Baka hot stove top!" Hinata smiled again before picking up the pink apron and putting it on. Naruto kept a relatively clean house. Relative to his old apartment at least. It was easy to finish picking up everything off the floor and putting it away in the correct places. While she was putting something away in Naruto's closet she took the time to look at his room. She had been in it multiple times, but each time felt like she was looking into his soul.

He had a large book case filled to the brim with scrolls of various jutsus that he would never be able to use. Some of the more recent ones were on styles of taijutsu and weapons. Scrolls with weapons sealed in them, scrolls with various other things sealed away, scrolls on the sharingan… Hinata had been one of the few Naruto had told about his eye he always covered. It was from Sasuke, who was like a brother to Naruto. Some times he would go off into the woods and train with Kakashi, learning how to use it to the best of his abilities she assumed. He never revealed it, though. He had told her that unless a life was on the line he would not use it, in honor of Sasuke.

On the top of the book case were a series of pictures from his life. One was of the old team seven when it had first been formed. One was of Naruto smiling on the day he became a chunin, and another when he became a jonin. His last promotion had only lasted less then a week… the next picture showed him with Momoko at the age of six on his shoulders with Hinata next to him and Kakashi behind him. A regular family photo even though not one person in the picture was related to another. Hinata had a copy on her own headboard. She also had a copy of the next one, the one with Momoko, Hinata, and a newly appointed jonin Naruto. That had been a great day. It had proved to Naruto that he still had the chance to fulfill his dreams. She needed to remember to take a picture if Momoko made genin tomorrow.

"Hinata? I forgot, is it one cup of sugar or one cup of salt? Oh well, I guess both won't hurt…"

"NO!"

* * *

A couple hours later found Naruto, Hinata, Momoko, Haimaru, and Shisui all sitting around the Uzumaki table and enjoying a wonderful meal. Sashimi, sushi, rice, dango for desert and, of course, ramen… Naruto had thought it might be awkward to be having dinner with a teammate's family, probably because he had never done it with his team. But then again, his team was comprised of two orphans and a girl whose mother hated Naruto. As it was, they found lots of stuff to talk about.

Naruto told them stories of his past adventures as a genin and when he kicked Haimaru's oji-san's ass in the chunin prelims. Hinata did not chime in that the turning point in the fight was a fart. She thought it was unnecessary and might give Haimaru the wrong ideas. After Shisui had been introduced and Hinata had explained about his blood line Naruto had calmed Shisui's mind by explaining how he had once had a brief fight with a Kaguya clan member, the last one, it had been thought. Naruto explained everything that had happened from his own story and from his friend's, Gaara and Lee, perspective. He told Shisui all about some of the amazing techniques he had seen. When Shisui asked why Naruto only spoke with respect of the evil man he had fought Naruto had responded that the man had not been evil.

"Kimimaro was not evil. He fought for the same reason I fought for, to protect his precious people. It just turned out that he had been misguided as a child and his precious person was evil, and so he was inadvertently aiding an evil man. But he wasn't evil at all. He was noble and wouldn't give up until he died. He should be an example to everyone. You three couldn't be better then to grow up with the same ideals. You just need to remember that your precious people should include the entire village."

"But…"

"No buts about it. Shisui, I have a question for you. Where do you live?"

"I live in an apartment…"

"By yourself?"

"Hai…"

"Not anymore! You can stay here!"

"NANI!" Everyone at the table except Hinata shouted that. She had known all along that Naruto would take a liking to the young orphan. He was so much like Naruto except in mannerisms.

"Sure, this house was made to hold ten people and me and Momoko are only two. I am an orphan too, and so was Momo-chan, so one more isn't exactly going to hurt us."

"I… I can't accept it."

"You don't have to. I am forcing you to. What is your apartment number?" Naruto got up from the table and began taking off small bands from around his arms, upper arms, legs and thighs.

"Ano… 476?"

"Ok." Naruto walked to the door and opened it. They didn't even see him move, but one moment he was there and the next he was gone.

"Where did he go?"

"You'll see."

Only ten seconds later Naruto was back at the door with a large box of stuff.

"You know, Shisui, you really don't own a lot of things, do you?"

"How… what… is that all the things from my apartment?"

"Yeah, it was only a little bit away."

"It was half way across town!"

"As I said." Haimaru's jaw was hanging open.

"Momoko, is you dad always that fast?"

"Yeah, but sometimes he is faster." Hinata smiled.

"Well, Shishui, it looks like you are now living with one of the greatest ninja to have ever lived." Momoko smiled as Haimaru's jaw remained in its hanging position and Shisui also stared at Naruto, who was putting the box in the living room.

"Hinata-sensei, what do you mean when you say he is one of the greatest ninja to have ever lived?" Shisui asked this as his eyes never left Naruto.

"Well, six years ago Naruto-kun fought and killed three kage level ninjas in a one on one and a two on one battle within an hour. Not only did he beat the S-ranked missing ninjas, not one person died in his team."

"Wow! You must be as strong as the Hokage!"

"Well, I used to be. But I gave all that up."

"Nani?" Momoko had already heard the story, but Haimaru and Shisui were on the edge of their seats, with Haimaru chiming in with loud interjections.

"Hai. In killing the ninja, I gave up the ability to ever use ninjutsu or genjutsu again except one." Naruto charged up a perfect rasengan in the span of a second in his left hand. "This is all I can do now except taijutsu. I gave it up for my precious people, everyone in the village. I guess I am the only person to actually achieve jonin status twice. And in a few years, you wait, I'll be the first Hokage with one jutsu to my name."

"Wow… that's what you were talking about, right Hinata-sensei?" Shisui was looking at Hinata. She nodded.

"Naruto-sama, are you sure it is alright to stay with you?"

"Hai, I wouldn't have it any other way. Now, Haimaru, I think it is time you went home. You need to be ready for tomorrow's test. Hinata-chan does not go easy on people she likes.

"Hai, g'night Momoko, Shisui. See you at eight." Haimaru ran out the door with his little black dog on his heels. He was determined to get Naruto fast one day.

"Momo-chan, Shisui. Bed."

"But otou-san…"

"Nope, it is nine and you need rest if you want to be a genin, so up to bed. Shisui, you get the room across from mine, Momoko will show you it. I am going on a walk with you sensei, so go straight to bed, got it?"

"Hai, otou-san."

"Hai, Naruto-sama."

"Alright. We will see you later. Good night."

* * *

Naruto walked down the dimly lit streets of Konoha with Hinata next to him. It was a beautiful night, not too cold and just a bit of a breeze. Naruto was smiling as he talked with Hinata about Shisui and the test tomorrow. Naruto thought her idea was perfect, expecially since they were already friends and would work well as a team already. It would be a test, alright. Hinata loved walking with him, even if all he talked about was ninja stuff. She could handle that. She wished he would say something more… intimate, but that was just the romantic in her.

"Hinata?"

"Hm? Hai, Naruto-kun?"

"Well, I was just wondering what is going on with your family. I mean, my family is common knowledge to me and you, but the last time we talked about what was going on in your clan was when you told me that you had beaten Hanabi for the first time. That was four or five years ago. How is it going?"

"Oh… well, to tell you the truth… I am still the technical heir to the clan, but I am trying to get out of it now."

"Nani?"

"Well, you see… being clan head means you need to do things in certain ways and do certain things and… well… I haven't fulfilled the requirements yet and I don't really want to. In fact… I know I can't."

"What do you mean? Hinata, it was always your dream to change you family's brokenness as clan head. I thought that was your goal…"

"No… my goal is something else. I don't want to be clan head at all once I was fully informed about my… duties."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, being forced to stay in the clan house unless under guard isn't something I would like. Endless hours of paper work is something I could live without. But… the worst part is that I would be forced to get married to one of my distant relatives. "The Hyuga clan must always have strong blood for the main branch." Is what they said. If I become clan head then I basically get married to a man I don't even know…"

"…that sucks."

"Hai."

"Aren't there alternative's?"

"Hai, there is one. And I am doing it right now. I choose to not be the clan heir. Hanabi actually seems to want the job, even after I told her about the arranged marriages. This way can marry… who ever I want."

"That's good. I wouldn't want to lose you."

"L…l…lose me?" Naruto suddenly realized what he had said.

"I… ano… that is… what I meant was…"

"Naruto-kun… did you really say that?"

"Ano… hai?"

"Good."

"Good?"

"Good."

"Wha…what do you mean, "good"?"

"I mean good, I wanted you to say that for years now. About fifteen of them."

"Wha… you mean you… you could like me like that?" Hinata was blushing when he turned to her. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before she slapped him upside the head.

"Of course I like you like that! You don't think I turned down all those dates with Kiba because I was shy, did you? I was waiting for you!" Hinata glared at him with her hands on her hips. Naruto held the back of his head with his hand and smiled nervously.

"So…"

"Naruto Uzumaki, I… I don't know why you failed to notice it after all this time that I loved you, but somehow you managed to. So now I am going to explain it to you. I love you. I loved you since the academy days. I loved you even when Kabuto let slip the information about the Kyuubi. It's about damn time…"

Hinata was cut off when Naruto's lips suddenly found their place on hers. Her eyes were wide for a while before she sunk into his arms and let her eyes close on their own. Naruto had literally picked her up in his arms, being that he was almost a full foot taller then her. She was on her tiptoes, but all of her weight was in his arms. It was like kami had suddenly decided Hinata had suffered enough and had brought heaven to her. Naruto had the same feeling. When they broke apart only seconds later Hinata didn't continue talking. She just grabbed the back of Naruto's head and pulled him down to her lips again. This time it lasted longer.

By the time they broke apart for the second time they had gathered a small crowd of people who had been walking by. Hinata was blushing and Naruto had a silly grin on his face.

"Wow… and I thought heaven came after I died…"

AN: Like it? Hate it? Good. Review it. You might notice that I am focusing on Hinata and Naruto and not the team of genins. This is a Hina/Naru fic after all. But expect to here more about the team to come. Thanks for reading and reviewing.


	4. Testing

AN: I really liked the end of the last chapter. Though it was kinda rushed in the story, I felt that six years was enough of time for then to figure it out, even if only a few days had been told in my story. Shisui is not a Kimimaro copy, for a good image of him you should think Vincent Valentine from FF VII but with white clothes, not black. As a matter of fact, I just thought about it. Yes, make him a white and red VV with a forehead protector, but 12 years old. Haimaru looks like his uncle with slightly tamer hair and two red triangles pointed inwards on each cheek. His dog is a black Akamaru, but his dog's name should give away what he might look like on soldier pills. Momoko has no set dress code. She could wear anything at all, but likes pastels despite her bold nature. Hinata wears black or dark blue loose clothing, but not too loose, and a jonin vest. Her hands are her weapons, dattebayo. Naruto Uzumaki has a pretty good description in chapter two. A little explanation on the weights. They did not crack through his houses floor in the last chapter because he was very careful. They are not chakra weights, or his right arm would go weightless. They are small, but very heavy. Naruto has a sharingan left eye, and many people know this though none have seen it. He will use it eventually.Ok, one last thing about characters. Momo means "peach", Momoko is the girls name based off of the word, peach. Shisui means "death water", and it is also the name of Itachi's friend that he killed to get Mangkyo(I will spell it right later). Haimaru is the name of Haimaru's moms dog squad, I think. Crazy moms...

Also, I have received many notes from people disappointed in Naruto not doing one handed seals, having non kunai/ shurikin weapons, or manipulating the rasengan any more. In answer to those remarks… Kakashi had never seen one handed seals until Haku with a Kekkei Genkai, and I have not seen any other one handed jutsus in manga or anime not related to a blood line limit. I do not think one can just make a one handed seal for a jutsu that usually uses two handed seals. It would not shape the chakra the same way. Second, he does have more weapons, but I won't show you them yet. No crazy sword with a name that transforms, but he has weapons. Third, manipulating wind chakra with he rasengan got him where his is now. He could certainly try, but his chakra control over his massive stores of chakra is limited at best. He wouldn't be able to do Sasuke level feats with his control in this fic. But don't lose hope! After all, miracles can happen if you believe. Do you believe? (I believe. After all, I wrote the conclusion to the last chapter, didn't I?) Naruto always triumphs, he is the main character!

Chapter 3: Testing

The rest of the night went by in a blur to Hinata. Naruto and her had continued on their walk and he had dropped her off at her home later that night. They had both been in a daze after what had started out as an outing between friends and had turned into a confession of love. Naruto Uzumaki had never smiled like he did that night. A completely full and true smiled that he hardly ever used unless he was around her. But that night had made it go one step further. It made her heart melt. They had spent the rest of the night walking around in a state of complete bliss. Hinata hadn't been able to sleep for hours.

"Naruto Uzumaki said he loved me."

"Hinata Hyuga said she loved me."

Both were lying in their beds on opposite sides of Konoha. They each stared at their ceilings. Each not being able to think of anything but what had been said, what had been revealed, and what it might mean for the future of their friendship.  
_Hinata-chan… I finally told her and it was fine. She thought the same way. Our friendship isn't ruined, it just is going further forward. Maybe I will ask her out again tomorrow… or would that be too soon? Or not soon enough? Why did it take me such a long time to tell her? She said 15 years. 15 years! I might have as well been in a coma for all I noticed her before the mission and Momoko. But the past is in the past, I guess. Where to go now…_

_Naruto-kun told me he loved me! He even kissed me! It is like every dream I have ever had from birth just became reality. Naruto loves me back! Tomorrow… tomorrow I need to test my team. But after that I should be able to talk to him. I hope he doesn't regret what he said… that would be more crushing then if he had never said it. But Naruto never goes back on his word! I feel like… I feel… like me life is perfect now._

Both were smiling as they went to sleep. Both had beautiful dreams, something Naruto hardly ever had. And both were looking forward to the coming day.

* * *

"OTOU-SAN! WAKE UP!"

"Wha… Momo-chan? What… what time is… almost 8:00… oh…"

"Otou-saaaaaan, wake up or you'll miss the test."

"Test? Test… oh, the test!" Naruto was awake now. Suddenly he remembered what today was, what was going on, and most importantly, what had happened after Momo and Shisui had gone to sleep the past night. Naruto smiled a silly smile as he threw his daughter out of his room, only to appear clothed instants later in time to catch her at the bottom of the stairs she had been thrown down. Sitting in the kitchen was Shisui, who smiled at the antics of the father and daughter while calmly eating an peach and a slice of toast.

"Oh, peaches! My favorite! For some reason Momo-chan likes peaches more then any other fruit, but I still have no idea why. Why is that, Momo-chan?" Naruto grabbed a peach and bit into it before setting Momoko down in her chair.

"Otou-san. Not in front of Shisui…" Momoko was blushing to Naruto's great amazement and amusement. He glanced from his daughter to Shisui, who was staring out a window.

"Right, you are both ninja's now. Alright then. Ready to go to training ground eight? I am bored and I don't need to do a mission today. The last one brought in more then enough money for the village to count as three, so I get a little lee-way."

"Hai, otou-san."

"Hai, Naruto-sama."

Naruto decided that it would probably be better to just have them walk then have him carry them, and they still had plenty of time till eight, so they would be fine.

"Shisui, how are you doing today?"

"Fine. I haven't felt this good in a long time." That was the truth. Shisui hadn't even had a friend until he had begun the ninja academy and met Momoko. She had fought to include him in all of her friend's games, even though he was quite often the worst at the game. He received almost failing grades in everything except book work in the academy… mainly because every time he tried to use chakra his bones would begin to do things like poke through his skin. He didn't want to be considered a freak… or evil. He didn't mind barely passing if it meant being considered a normal person. But today would be the beginning, one way or another, of a new life. Either his team would pass and accept him for the weirdo he was, or they would pass and not accept him. But they would pass, he knew that.

"That's good. You know, I heard a little about you last night after you guys went to sleep. You have a bloodline many people would be jealous of, but you never use it. Also you got some pretty dismal grades in pretty much anything involving chakra or… well, exercise. Why?"

"Well…" He glanced at Momoko. "… whenever I use chakra my bloodline activates on its own. It… I don't want to look… I was…"

"You liked having friends?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, I can tell you right now that I know what you are feeling like. But, really, the only way you will get better is if you practice until you can use chakra and control your bloodline. I can tell by the way your body moves and is shaped that you have a great amount of potential in close quarters fighting, but if you never practice then you won't gain control. Besides, Momo-chan here wouldn't abandon you just because your bones can change shape…"

"You can change your bone's shape? Awesome!"

"See?"

"Hai. Hinata-sensei said something along those same lines yesterday. I will do as you both say. It is not a curse, but a gift I can use to protect my precious people, right?"

"Hai. Now you got it. And anyone who says you're weird because of it…"

"Is a baka."

"Hai."

"Shisui, can I watch your bones change shape?"

"Ano… I am not good at it yet… maybe in a week or two…"

"I would say it will take a while, but then again I mastered a jutsu in a month that took the Fourth three years. Try your hardest. Both of you. I will only watch the test."

"Hai."

Naruto and his two young cohorts entered the training grounds to find the last two people from the last night's party already there. Haimaru and his dog were "warming up", which consisted of running around chasing each other in a wild game of tag. Hinata, on the other hand, was watching Haimaru and Gin with her back to the newcomers. If they could see her face, they would have seen that it was unfocused and her smiled showed that her inner thoughts were happy. Naruto decided to use it to his own advantage. After all, a jonin that let people sneak up on her isn't much of a ninja.

It turned out that Naruto was right. Hinata was a ninja, and she didn't let people sneak up on her. Naruto soon found himself flat on the ground with Hinata Hyuga's chakra charged palm next to his chest. She only realized who he was a second after she threw him to the ground.

"Oh! Naruto-kun." Naruto smiled at her and rubbed the back of his head.

"Hinata-chan, you sure know how to throw a guy…" Naruto assumed Hinata had forgotten who was also in the clearing as she gave him a not so chaste kiss. He couldn't help but return it, but had to cut it off short when they heard a cough from behind. Hinata and Naruto jumped to their feet with blushes at being caught… by Naruto's own daughter and team.

"You know, after four years of trying to get you two together… I never would have suspected that a blow to the head would have done the job. If I had known that, otou-san would have lots of lumps on his head." Momoko and Haimaru were giggling out of their minds, while Shisui had his eyebrows so high that it looked like they disappeared under his forehead protector.

"Ano… alright, team. Naruto, please wait over there."

"Sure…" Naruto himself was having a little trouble trying not to laugh. What a first impression… or second, whatever.

"Alright. Here is your test. You three are going to fight. The losers of the fight will be sent back to the academy, the winner will become an official genin. You have one hour. Any questions?"

"Hinata-sensei, your test makes no sense."

"That is a comment, not a question."

"Okaa-s… I mean, Hinata-sensei… why would we ever need to fight our friends?"

"Naruto had to. But to answer your question, the one who wins will have proven that they are a capable ninja. Ready?" None of the genin even moved.

"Ok, go!"

Hinata jumped out of the way to where Naruto sat and smiled. Hinata's test was going to be over before it started. The three genins just stood there, looking at each other. Momoko was the first to speak.

"I… I can't just fight you guys…"

"But… you have to… or you'll be sent back."

"Shisui's right. We need to do this."

"No, we don't! We're friends! We're a team! I will not just fight you two to prove I can be a ninja. That would be making me less of a ninja then before. Oji-san always tells me that those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are less then trash. Hinata-sensei, I forfeit."

"Hai, I forfeit too."

"Me too. Even if I need to wait another year to be a ninja… this test isn't right. It goes against our nindos and our friendship. Fighting just to prove ourselves? I will not lower myself to hitting a friend and comrade just to become a ninja."

"Hai."

"Hai."

Hinata tried to hold a sad face as she walked up to them. "Well… if that is what you all want. I guess I have no choice… I have to pass you all."

The three genins stared at her for a moment before her words registered in their minds.

"NANI!"

"Hai, you all pass. Good job. Sacrificing friendship for personal gain is the signs of a traitor and a team that would do that is not one I will lead. Congratulations on passing my test."

"Really? The whole fight was just a test? And if we actually had gone through with it…"

"You all would have failed. But you didn't, good job. Tomorrow, though, the real training begins. As it is, the rest of the day is yours. Enjoy yourselves because I am going to give you a mission a day and after you complete it you will train for the rest of the day. Gather your strength and prepare. Same time, same place, tomorrow morning, your careers as ninja will begin then."

"Arigato, Sensei!" All three shouted before running towards town. Naruto came up behind her.

"Your test was easy for them…"

"Yeah… but you never can tell."

"Are you going to see the old bat?"

"Naruto-kun, she is the Hokage."

"And she is also an old bat. I'll go with you."

"Arigato, Naruto-kun."

"Don't mention it." Hinata wrapped her arms around one of his as they followed the trail of her new students into town.

* * *

"Tsunade-bachan!" The fifth Hokage of Konoha had a burning desire to slam her head into the table and claim a sick day with the following concusion… but then Shizune would just heal her and she would be back with the paper work and… Naruto.

"Shizune, go ahead and send him in… it couldn't be much worse then this…" Tsunade had always regretted taking the job as the Hokage. Sure, there were some days that made it worthwhile, but they were few and far between. The bad part was that it took a whole lot of sake to ease the constant headaches… the good part was that she had enough money to pay for the sake.

Naruto strode into the room followed by Hinata Hyuga. Tsunade had been in touch with both of them more then almost any other ninja in the city, mainly because the only other human alive she allowed to call her bachan thought of them as her parents. Tsunade was getting on in years, but she wasn't too old to see that something was different today then before. It could be the way Hinata seemed to have a permanent blush on today, or maybe the way Naruto held her hand but she could tell that something had changed for the better between them.

"Bachan, I was just coming in to see if you have any new missions for your number one ninja."

"Hokage-sama, I have come to report the results of my test on team eight."

"Ok, Naruto, no I have no new missions for Neji's ANBU squad, but there is one for you here."

"…ouch."

"And Hinata, you don't need to call me Hokage-sama, the girl I treat as a granddaughter thinks of you as a mother, call me Tsunade. Second, it is only nine in the morning. How did you get done so fast?"

"They passed it within minutes."

"What was the test?"

"I chose to test whether or not they would put self preservation over their team and friends. They passed much faster then I thought. I almost thought that they would come to the decision that Momoko should pass and the others would just pass later, which would have failed them, but they all agreed that their team would only do things together. I pass them."

"And this has nothing to do with the fact that Momo-chan is on that team?"

"Tsunade-sama, I would never bias myself like that!"

"I know, I know. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Alright, you get one day to train them before D missions."

"Oh how fun those were."

"As for you, Naruto, I have a pretty decent mission on line for you. It will take a week at most."

"What rank?"

"A."

"Finally." Naruto grabbed the scroll from Tsunade's hand before opening and browsing through it. He smiled before rolling it back up.

"I'll leave in the morning. Hinata-chan, you want to go do something before I leave?"

"Hinata…-chan? Does that mean what I think it means? A date between mother and father? Momo-chan has always been trying to get me to send you two on missions together, but I guess I didn't need to resort to underhanded tactics after all."

"Bachan!"

"Tsunade-sama!"

"Now, now, you two kids go have some fun. If you see Momo-chan, tell her that her bachan is bored and needs someone to play with."

"Only if you promise sake is not involved in the game."

"Getting all fatherly on me, eh brat? Fine. Hinata, before I forget, what do you think of your team?"

"I think that we are going to be a great team if I can train them to believe in themselves. Momoko might need to tone it down a bit, she is so much like Naruto I still wonder how they aren't really related. Haimaru is definitely a capable ninja now. He reminds me of a mixture in personalities between Shino and Kiba."

"I can't imagine that mix."

"Well, Haimaru pulls it off. Shisui… I think I am going to see if I can find a personal trainer for him. He is special and requires some one on one time outside of team practice."

"That bad?"

"Bad? No. Shisui has the ability inside of him to surpass Ten-ten in weapons fighting if he trains. The problem is I can't spend team time trying to teach him to control his blood line, which also has potential from what I have heard."

"Hm… I'll consider finding someone. Who would you suggest?"

"A jonin with skills in taijutsu and weapons fighting."

"Oh! I have an idea! How about me!"

"You have a mission."

"I read the mission, bachan. Give me two days and it will be done."

"It isn't some escort from bandits, Naruto. You're supposed to meet with the Kazekage to receive any information for the alliance. Chances are he will have you wait three days before seeing you."

"Bachan, you haven't spent a lot of time with Gaara, have you?"

"The Kazekage? No, can't say I have."

"I'll have it done in two days, then I can accept a mission to train Shisui. He is living in my home now, anyway."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he reminded me of me. Living in an apartment by himself... but now he lives with me. Perfect for one on one training. Besides, I can't teach people ninjutsu anyway, so I might as well teach this kid what I can."

"Alright then. I'll put together a mission for you by the time you return in three days…"

"Two."

"Naruto, I have never heard of a ninja, jonin or not, even making it between Suna and here in two days."

"You want to bet on it?"

"No. I don't. Damn lucky kid… you both are free to go."

"Hai, Hokage… I mean, Tsunade-sama."

"See ya, bachan!"

"Beat it, brat."

* * *

Momoko was dragging Shisui around town. Or at least around to all of the weapons shops. Momoko would walk into a weapons shop and just stare at all the shiny pointy things. She had a decent supply of kunai and shurikin, but Naruto had promised her a while ago that if she got into a team he would get her a new weapon. She was excited about it and had dragged Shisui with her for advice on what to get. He had nothing better to do anyway.

"What do you think of that?" Momoko was pointing towards a huge hunk of steel as tall as her otou-san.

"Momoko, I don't think either of us could carry it, let alone swing such a thing."

"You're probably right. What do you think I should get?"

Shisui looked around the weapons store. There were blades from the size of a tiny kunai to the size of a full grown man. So many to choose from.

"Momoko, maybe you should wait and see how your fighting style develops. If you turn out to be a fast, up close, fighter, then getting a long sword like that would only hurt your style. But getting some fighting knifes would hurt if you turn out to be a long range fighter that uses jutsu mainly. See?"

"Yeah. That makes sense. How about you? What type of fighter are you?"

"I… I don't really know."

"Really? Me either."

"I guess I could be whatever I wanted to with my bloodline."

"Yeah, that'll be awesome once you figure out how to do it."

"It will be kind of… weird."

"Why?"

"Well, it controls my bones, so I could make them stick out of my body."

"That doesn't sound weird, that sounds cool!"

"Well, no everyone thinks the same way you do…"

"Then they should. I am the coolest ninja ever and never wrong about such things."

Shisui had to laugh at that, which made Momoko frown at him comically.

"That wasn't a joke."

That just made him laugh harder, which made Momoko start laughing also. Finally, Ten-ten, the one taking care of the shop at the time also broke out laughing.

* * *

Hinata and Naruto were walking down the roads of Konoha when they saw an interesting sight. Walking down the road towards them was a depressed Lee. Now, if it had been anyone else in Konoha Naruto would have just considered it a bad day. But Lee? Rock Lee, the official "spirit of youth" since Might Gui had retired to a teaching job at the academy (poor students)? Naruto had to find out what was wrong.

"Yo, Lee!" Lee locked up from the ground before shuffling over.

"Naruto-san, I feel downtrodden today. Hinata-san, how are you?"

"Fine… gomen, how are you?"

"Lacking in youth."

"Nani? Lee, what is the matter?"

"Well, this is the third group of genin I had to fail. If the ninja I meet continue to be like this then I might never have the privlage of following in my great sensei's footsteps. That and… and Sakura-chan…"

"You asked, didn't you?"

"Hai…" Lee looked ready to cry. And not the tears that he would always spout when Gui would criticize him or praise him. Those tears came freely. These looked like they would break him in half if he let them go.

"He asked what?"

"Hinata-chan… could you leave me with Lee for a while. Maybe go talk with Sakura?"

Hinata had no idea what was going on, but she agreed and went off. Naruto and Lee walked towards a secluded area of town, one more empty. Naruto knew Lee wouldn't want to just sit.

"She said no?"

"Hai…"

"Did she give a reason?"

"She said… I wasn't Sasuke and I should stop trying to be him. Naruto-san, I didn't think I was trying to be Sasuke. I was being Rock Lee, and I loved her…"

"Sakura… man, that girl…"

"I just don't know anymore, Naruto-san. I felt like we really had something. I could make her smile, I would make her laugh, I gave her flowers, I took her to dinner, I gave her my soul… all of my youthfulness! And, correct me if I am wrong, but Sasuke Uchiha never did any of those things… except make her smile and laugh. Am I destined to always be second best… second to the prodigy of the Uchiha's even in his death."

"Lee… you are a better man then Sasuke was, he even admitted in his last moments how screwed up he knew he was. He told me not to get involved with Sakura because she didn't love me, he even said he thought she didn't really love him."

"But that just makes it worse. I am losing… no, I lost to a man she doesn't even love!"

"Lee, she never really loved Sasuke, but she loved the idea of him. The Sasuke she loved and the Sasuke that actually existed were two different people. She is in love with an idea, and they can't die."

"What do I do then? I… I don't know what to do. For the first time in my life hard work isn't working and I don't know how to do anything else!"

"Well, you have two choices."

"What are they?"

"One, give up. Find another woman to love and leave Sakura to her imagination. Two, don't give up. Keep after her until she realizes that her fantasies are false and only reality will help her get through them."

"What if I do number two and she never realizes it?"

"Then at least you tried. And if you eventually leave her, the way you treat women has not and will not go unnoticed in this town. Talk to some of the women of the village who are always watching you train."

"I have… fan girls?"

"I understand that your training is kind of single minded, but how did you never notice?"

"I guess… Sakura was always on my mind."

"You don't need to tell me what you are going to do, but you need to tell her."

"I… that will be hard…"

"Hai."

"Alright then. Hard, I can do. Arigato, Naruto-san. Your youthfulness sometimes outshines even mine!"

"That's the Lee I know, go get her."

"Arigato!" Lee ran off leaving behind a cloud of dust. Naruto wondered about that, since the streets had been paved in stone years ago and there weren't dirt paths anymore…

* * *

Hinata Hyuga was in the waiting room of the Konoha hospital. She had arrived a while ago and was waiting for Sakura to take a lunch break. When Sakura finally showed up Hinata was stunned into silence. Sakura walked out of some doors and into the arms of a man that had also been waiting for her. Hinata was sitting alone in a corner unnoticed while Sakura was effectively making out with a guy Hinata had never seen. She just stared as the two walked out the doors, hand in hand, to get lunch.

The last Hinata had heard from Naruto, Lee and Sakura had been dating for years. At least two, now. What was Sakura doing with this guy? Hinata activated her Byakugan and followed after them with all of the stealth of a jonin. They appeared to all be very close, at least they appeared that way with all of the making out and touching that went on under their table in the restaurant where they ate._ Could this be why Lee was so down? Sakura was cheating on him? Sakura… I thought you were better then this._ Hinata, though, was not one to jump to conclusions. Sakura and the mysterious man, obviously a civilian, walked directly from lunch to what she assumed to be his or hers apartment. From there… she decided to release her Byakugan as they both began removing articles of clothing. She knew what was coming.

_Poor Lee… stupid Sakura. Lee didn't deserve this, Sakura. Lee is a nice guy that, at least since his style changed a little, has been as popular as Sasuke was. And now you go and do this. With a man who vaguely resembles Sasuke Uchiha do to his black eyes and black hair. He couldn't even pull off a jutsu with those chakra coils. I… I should tell Naruto-kun…_

"Hinata-chan, what are you doing here?"

She gave a small "eep" of surprise as the person she had been just about to go find appeared behind her.

"Naruto-kun… I… I was going to talk to Sakura…"

"Really? She is really messed up."

"You have no idea."

"What? You agree with me? Hinata-chan, you never think bad about others."

"Well, normally I wouldn't… but Sakura… that girl…"

"You know what she did? Lee finally got the courage to ask her to marry him. After apparently two years of using him as damage control she said no. She didn't just say no, though. She said, "You're not Sasuke, so stop trying to be like him." Lee was broken hearted, I still have no idea what he is going to do."

"I can tell you what I think he should do."

"What?"

"Leave her alone. She doesn't deserve him." Naruto stared at Hinata with wide eyes. Hinata had never said something like that before.

"Hinata-chan? What do you know that I don't… I mean I actually agree with you, but isn't that a little harsh for you?"

"She is down there, right now, having sex with some guy I have never seen who bares a very vague resemblance to Sasuke. Just black hair and eyes, nothing else is the same. Lee deserves someone who wouldn't cheat on him."

"Do you think we should approach Lee about this?"

"Not until we talk to Sakura about it. Up until today I was actually on speaking terms with her. Now… I don't know if I want to see her."

"Well, better you then me. She would rather watch paint dry then see me at all."

"We'll go together as soon as she leaves. She is on lunch break, after all."

"Damn it… Sakura…"

"You used to like her, didn't you?"

"Yeah, a kid's crush really. She hasn't gotten over her crush, though. I got over her, moved on to greener pastures."

"I really hope you're talking about me, but then I would have just been compared to a pasture."

"I moved on to more beautiful and wonderful women."

"Now I really want you to be talking about me."

"Well… I was talking about Momo-chan, but you're nice too."

"Naruto-kun, you really know how to say romantic things."

"I know, I am great like that."

"And humble?"

"That too, the most humblest ninja in the world, dattebayo!"

"Why did I fall for you?"

"I just told you."

"Naruto-kun."

"Ok, seriously? I have no idea. I was a stupid loud mouth who thought he could take the world on. And look at me now, a stupid loud mouth who actually can take the world on."

"The humble part?"

"Yeah, I know."

* * *

Sakura walked out of the apartment alone. She was walking towards the hospital when Hinata jumped down in front of her and Naruto behind her.

"Wha… oh, Hinata. How are you today?"

"I could be better, Sakura."

"Uh… is there… is there anything I can help you with?"

"Actually, yes. We met Lee this morning."

"Ah, that."

"No, not that."

"What do you mean?"

"I can understand saying no to a marriage proposal, I can understand hanging onto a childhood love, but… I can't understand why you toyed with his heart! I know what you were doing back there. I was coming to ask you why Lee was crying when I saw you with that man who very vaguely resembles Sasuke. You didn't just meet last night after Lee asked you, you cheated on him. You cheated on him with a foggy image of Sasuke! Why would you toy with his heart like that? Lee is one of the kindest men in the village and he deserves some respect."

"Sakura, you might not want to here what I have to say, but you will. I don't care if you let your imaginary Sasuke beat out Lee in your heart. I wasn't going to talk to you about it. But if it is going to beat out Lee, then at least tell him. You apparently led him on for years, like if he just loved you more then he would win your love. If it is unwinnable, give him the RULES! I consider Lee one of my closest friends, and it is my duty as his friend to not let him get hurt anymore. I can't believe I actually encouraged him to never give up on you only minutes ago. Now he is probably at the training ground, promising that if he can't win your heart then he will run around the world five times. We are giving you a chance, decide right here and now. Tell him yourself, or we will tell him."

Sakura just stood between the two ninja, not saying a word or breaking her expression that showed nothing. Naruto couldn't tell what she was thinking, her back was to him. He walked around her and put his arm around Hinata before leading her away to find Lee.

AN: I am not a Sakura hater, and this will eventually be resolved in a way that is not horriblly sad and depressing. Sakura just has an issue that needs to be dealt with. This will not bash Sakura, so don't think it will. Thanks for reading and reviewing.


	5. Missions of Friendship

AN: Ok, I had a really crappy last week, so I apologize for the late update. I really like the way the story is going and intend to update regularly now. I appreciate everyone saying stuff to me about how they appreciate Sakura bashing. Really, Sakura is just really messed up in her mind right now. You won't find a conclusion to her situation in this chapter, though. Thanks for reading and reviewing. I was hoping for a better reaction to his story then I have gotten so far, but even so I consider this and Blind my best work to date. Oh, and check my one shot, Moonlight Snowfall, on my author page, it is ok for a one shot, I think. For those who wanted some action, you might find it here.

* * *

Chapter 4: Missions of Friendship

* * *

Naruto and Hinata were no longer having a good day. It isn't everyday that they would catch a former friend and girlfriend to one of their friends cheating on their friend. Or that they would find that friend in a state of melancholy never seen before by anyone other then his previous sensei. Or that they would return to tell that friend what they had seen.

As it was, they were in the process of finding Lee to help him come to terms with Sakura's betrayal. The world around them continued on its present day course. People walked through the city streets buying and selling goods, children ran around and played, people sat and ate their lunch at food stands and restaurants, and Hinata and Naruto walked on. It wasn't as if the happiness around them didn't exist, it was more that it was a cover. The joy of the civilians was a mask for the hurt and pain they knew they were going to need to bring to their friend.

"Naruto-kun… are you sure we should tell him?"

"… I don't really know. I don't know how he will take it, to tell you the truth. Lee is a strong guy, but he has dedicated most of his ninja career to winning Sakura's heart."

"And Gai."

"Hai… Hinata-chan, you don't need to come with me."

"I know."

After a short walk that seemed to last forever they arrived at Lee's training spot. Lee was doing combos on the training logs that made average jonin look like snails. He had removed his weights and was releasing as much energy as he could into the attacks. Naruto could see how close the training log was to falling apart. Lee had a look on his face that made it seem like he was concentrating heavily on his training, but the emptiness in his eyes showed where his mind really was.

"Lee."

At Naruto's greeting the taijutsu master gave one final punch to the log, splitting it in half. He gave them a small smile while he shook the splinters from his hand wrappings. Hinata saw the pain that brushed his features for an instant before his smile went up. Whether it was from the blood coming from his hands or the pain he must feel in his heart, she knew not.

"Hello again, Naruto. Hinata-san. I was just training."

"And thinking?"

"Hai."

"What have you been thinking of?" Lee walked over to them before falling against a tree and sitting down. Naruto and Hinata also took seats across from him.

"I was thinking about what you told me, Naruto. About my two choices. About which choice is the correct one, the one which will bring the most happiness to Sakura and me… and it doesn't help that that girl who was watching me until you scared her away is as pretty as Sakura."

Hinata gave a small gasp. "There was a girl here? Who?"

"A villager, apparently she has been watching me train for years, even though a certain sparing partner I know never told me until today."

"I thought you knew and just ignored her!"

"Well, I didn't today. She was hiding behind a tree, watching me, when I asked her if she wanted to come out and watch. She actually came out from behind a tree and I saw how beautiful she was before she ran off. Didn't even speak."

"That sounds like someone I used to know… what was her name? Hmm… oh, that's right! Hinata!" Hinata blushed. "And if the girl is anything like Hinata-chan, then she most certainly is a nice person." Lee stared at him for a second before breaking out into a huge smile.

"So, you finally realized that you were in love with her, eh? I guess I lost the bet."

"What?"

"Yeah, Neji said you would never see she loved you, and I said you would figure it out three years ago. Ten-ten said you would figure it out sometime before you turned thirty. I guess I own her a few thousand ryo now…"

"You guys have been placing bets on my love life?"

"Hai. Well, I can't really say much about the girl except she looked a little younger then me and was very beautiful. But… wouldn't it be cheating for me to ask her out? We technically haven't broken up, she just rejected my proposal."

"I don't think you should worry about cheating on Sakura."

"Oh, so you found out."

"What?"

"You found out that she was cheating on me." Lee looked slightly depressed, but the other two people sitting had no idea how he could take it so easily and how he already seemed to know.

"You… you mean you knew?"

"Yeah, I knew. I've known for a long time, now. I figured that if that's what she needed to be happy…"

"Lee, shut up."

"Huh?"

"Shut up, this is no longer about her happiness. She had no right to cheat on you and you had no reason to stay with her through it. Doesn't it hurt you to see her do that?"

"Well… yeah."

"Then why do you put up with her?"

"Because I thought I loved her! I would do anything for her! Even if she tried to kill me, I would be forced to throw myself into her knife if that was what she wanted!"

"Lee, that isn't a healthy relationship! She was using you…"

"And… and I wanted to be used…"

"What do you mean, Lee?"

"I… I just saw her that day before the chunin exams. I said to myself, there is a beautiful and smart ninja. I told myself that I would help her in anyway I could to win her heart. I had only one precious person up until then, and I felt attracted to her so I decided to make her one of my precious people."

"Lee… as much as I think that you are the best thing to happen to Sakura these last six years, what you felt wasn't love. Naruto-kun knows that, he felt the same thing for her. I am not saying that she should stop being a precious person to you at all, but when she uses you for her own reasons and pays no attention to your feelings… giving up is something that you can't do, Lee. But you can let go."

"Hinata is right. It sounds like you just met a girl who is infatuated with you. You gave Sakura a chance, and then a hundred more chances. Maybe… maybe it wasn't meant to be."

"Naruto… I think you are both right. Really, you just told me again what I have been thinking about. Every time my brain tells me maybe one more chance won't hurt my heart tells me that it is sick of the hurt. I don't think Gai-sensei would want me hurting myself…"

"No, he wouldn't. He would tell you to get on your feet, find that girl, give her a chance, and enjoy the fires of youth that Sakura attempted to put out."  
Lee stood up and leaned against the tree. They couldn't see his face. "A…arigato… Naruto. You are a true friend. Arigato, Hinata-san. I appreciate your help. I… I need to go."

"Where?"

"I… I guess I should go find Sakura and tell her everything I am thinking about. Then I will make a decision."

"Sounds like a good idea. If you need anything I will be out of town for a couple days on a mission. I hope to see you when I get back."

"Sure, see you two later."

"Good bye, Lee."

* * *

Momoko Uzumaki strode confidently through the streets of Konoha with Shisui trailing behind her blushing. It could have been the heat, even though it was a rather mild day, but the common thought was that it was the fact that he was being dragged through the streets by his hand. Others thought it was because the person dragging him was a girl a head shorter then him. They were probably the closest to the truth. 

"Come on! We need to hurry back if we want to be home for dinner!"

"But…"

"Oh, look!" Momoko would drag him over to a shop selling masks, where she stood there staring at all of the masks for five minutes. Shisui sighed. This brought Momoko out of her window shopping and she suddenly remembered what she was doing.

"Oh no! We're going to be late!" Then she would grab his hand again and drag him further down the street till she saw a shop advertising the newest brand of shurikin holster, which she had to see. Five minutes later…

"Oh no! We're going to be late!" Shisui had come to realize just how weird it was having Momo around. She couldn't keep her mind set straight on anything at all for more then a minute! Shisui was the one in front this time they both were running towards the home of the Uzumaki's when Momoko saw something else interesting.

"Wow…"

"Nope, going to be late."

"Late? For what… oh!" Then she would keep running with him. The job of keeping Momo on track was slightly tiring, but, strange as it might have seemed, Shisui liked it. And he had no idea why. Normally, girls this scatter brained in school annoyed him. He might have been the worst ninja to graduate, but he was good looking and some girls never let him forget it. They weren't friends, though, and as soon as he popped a bone they ran away. Momoko was different. Sure, she had an attention span of a gold fish, but he thought it was kind of…

Cute.

_What the hell am I saying! Did I just think that? Did I really just say my teammate and the person who sleeps across the hall way is cute for the same reasons why I think others are annoying? Am I going insane? That's it, I am going insane. Maybe that is another part of my blood line._

"Shisui?"

"Hm?" He suddenly realized where he was and what was in front of him. He ran full speed into the door to the Uzumaki's… his… home. He now lay flat on his back with a trail of blood coming out his nose. Momoko had dropped his hand before he had crashed and was now standing above him.

"Shisui, that is a door. You can't run through it."

"Yeah… I found that out…"

"You're funny, let's go." Shisui blushed again, but Momoko had already turned and opened the door before she could see it.

_She just said I'm funny, it wasn't that big of a deal. STOP BLUSHING! You're a ninja, get a hold of yourself. Kami, you would think that being a loner for years would build up some emotional stamina, but Noooo… I had to pick the only girl I know to have a crush on… I DID NOT JUST THINK THAT!_

It took a while, but Shisui managed to get rid of his blush and walk into the home. Momoko, Naruto, and Hinata were already sitting at the table.

"Shisui, it is good to that you're back. Was that you knocking really loud?"

"Um… hai?"

"Next time, try the handle."

"Right."

Dinner was an interesting experience, one which Shisui had only had the night before. When he ate dinner before, it was alone and silent. Dinners in the Uzumaki residence were the opposite. There were people around him, a jonin, his sensei, his cru… girlfrie… significant oth… love. _DAMN IT! BEST FRIEND! BEST FRIEND BEST FRIEND BEST FRIEND, not the other stuff._ It was quite comical to the rest of the people at the table to watch Shisui slam his head into the table and blame it on lack of sleep.

"So, what were you two up to today?" Strangely, it was Momoko who asked this with a hint of mischief in her voice. Naruto really didn't think she needed to know about what really happened, so…

"Oh, nothing much. We sat here and drank tea and talked, you know, adult stuff."

"Funny, when you say 'adult stuff' and oji-san says 'adult stuff' it seems to mean different things. He gets a twinkle in his eye and always looks off into space." Naruto and Hinata both choked on their food.

"Naruto-kun, I thought you said Kakashi…"

"I'm going to talk to him went I get back…"

"You're leaving?" Shisui asked that one.

"Yep, two day mission. It will be fine. You two behave and obey your kind and beautiful but deadly and demanding sensei, ok?"

"Hinata-sensei, are you really deadly?"

"Only to people who don't obey my orders."

Momoko and Shisui each gave small but audible gulps. Hinata smiled at them as she helped Naruto gather the dishes.

"But, I don't think we'll have any trouble with that, will we?"

"No, sensei!"

"And what are my orders, sensei?"

"Naruto-kun, you can wash, I'll dry."

"Nah, don't feel like it." Naruto leaned over her and kissed her. Momoko squealed and Shisui stood in shock, seeing it once at the training ground was one thing, but twice?

When they broke away it was Hinata who looked dazed.

"Alright, you dry and I'll wash." She was barely talking, it was more of a whisper. He kissed her again, longer with more passion.

"Alright, fine. You sit on the couch with me and we keep doing this."

"Sounds like a plan. Momo-chan, Shisui. Dishes."

"What?"

* * *

The next morning came too quickly for Naruto. He rose and dressed slower then the day before and then left his home leaving breakfast on the table on a note for Momoko, Shisui and Hinata. He double checked for the mission scroll before removing his weights. If he was going to break records on this mission, he would need to do it at his best. He placed his weights by his door and then in a burst of speed, he was gone. 

He was using all of his speed. He had his reputation to uphold and, besides that, he was going to visit an old friend. Gaara, the one time container of the one tailed bijuu, was with out a doubt one of Naruto's closest friends. They shared a lot more then just the fact they once held demons. Their pasts were nearly identical. Both had been persecuted for what they carried, both contained anger at the villagers who did the persecuting, and both had, at one time, been the victim of an attempted assassination. The difference was that Gaara chose to act on his anger using violence and prove them right by bringing their worst nightmares to reality. Naruto chose to prove them wrong and become the savior of the people. Gaara had changed and followed Naruto's path after their first encounter and his village now accepted him as the greatest Kazekage to have ever run Suna.

Naruto spent most of the day running through the forest and, eventually, the sand. Naruto hated the sand. It was hard to run on and equally hard to fight on. That, and it was damn hot. But Naruto kept running, knowing that upon the completion of the mission he had more to return to then ever before.

_I still can't believe that this has finally happened. I finally got up the nerve to ask Hinata out and it worked, she doesn't hate me, our relationship didn't become awkward. Finally, I found love._

The great walls of Suna were soon in sight as the sun began to set. He arrived to an honor guard of five ANBU. In reality, though, the ANBU weren't there because they knew he was coming and wanted to say hello. In fact, they weren't friendly at all.

"Halt, stop where you are!" Naruto came to a halt as fast as the loose sand would allow.

"Evening, Naruto Uzumaki here to see the Kazekage."

"Is that right… well, the Kazekage is busy. Go back to your stupid village hidden in the leaves and tell your Hokage to go screw herself."

That certainly threw Naruto for a loop. Granted, the alliance between Sand and Konoha had been tense recently, but it certainly didn't call for that. That could have been considered an act of war.

"I don't think you understand. I am on a mission…"

"We understand fully. You may not enter the city."

"Why the hell not?" Naruto was getting angry.

"All leaf ninja are to be kept out and detained."

"Detained? Are you trying to piss me off? I am an official messenger from the Hokage, who you WILL treat with respect, and a personal friend of the Kazekage. You either let me in now or I will enter the gates over your unconscious forms!"

"He's being belligerent. Detain with force." The five ANBU surrounded Naruto.

_What the hell is going on? We are in an alliance, right? Is this why it was an A ranked mission? What is Gaara thinking?_ Naruto dodged a kunai that would have hit him in the heart._ These guys aren't planning on detaining me… unless the word detain was suddenly changed to mean kill without anyone telling me._ Naruto spun around and, before the targeted ninja had a chance to see what had happened, kicked one ANBU into the rock wall of Suna. He quickly spun around and punched two more in their guts, sending them skidding across the desert sand.

The two remaining ANBU looked stunned, surprised to see three of their own taken out in less then a second by a nameless Konoha ninja. One backed away a little and motioned the other to go first. The other stepped foreword at ready to attack. Before Naruto had a chance to jump the one in front, the one in the back smashed a large metal object over the first one's head. Naruto looked at the last ANBU, shocked that the ninja just hurt one of its own. He was stunned, but that only lasted until the ANBU removed her mask.

"Temari?"

"Yeah, welcome to sand, Naruto."

* * *

Naruto and Temari had arrived at what she called a safe house. Safe from what was the question on Naruto's mind. A few other ninja were already there in the basement of a small civilian home. Kankuro, Matsuri, Temari, Naruto, and a few other ninja who Naruto had not met since the mission he went on to rescue Gaara all those years ago sat in the dark around a small candle. 

"Alright, so does anyone want to tell me why two of the most important ninja in the city and around ten other ninja want to hide in a dark room? Or, if you would, explain why I was assaulted at the gate? Oh, and while we're at it, where the hell is Gaara?"

"Naruto." Kankuro looked more serious then Naruto had ever seen him.

"Hai?"

"We have a serious problem. The mission you received was a plea for help from Suna. A revolution happened almost a week ago. Gaara was captured and is being kept drugged or unconscious in the Kazekage's tower."

"The elder counsel took a… a really bad turn after Chiyo-basama was killed in the rescue mission seven years ago. A week ago their plans came to fruition and most of the city is under their control. What you see here are the leaders of cells like this one across the city. We think we have about half of the ninja on our side, but with Gaara out…"

"So the mission wasn't to get some stupid documents, it was to help you guys get Gaara back in his seat, right?"

"Hai, we need your help!" Matsuri looked like she was about ready to cry. Naruto had heard from Gaara recently how he had been getting close to the slightly younger ninja. It was obvious now, when she wasn't able to control her emotions. But who was he to talk?

"Shouldn't you have asked for, oh, I don't know, a hundred ninja from Konoha?"

"We did, aren't you the first of many?" Everyone looked so hopeful.

"No."

"Nani?"

"Your original message must not have been relayed. I was told it was a simple mission for one man. But, hey, don't worry. It's me! I'm worth, what, twenty at least." Naruto's try at a joke to liven up the mood flopped. Every single person in the room was looking worse.

"Temari, where is Gaara, specifically?"

"We don't know. But our informants say that he is in the Kazekage's tower, probably in the cells in the basement."

"I could spring him, but the moment I do, you all must be ready to rise up and fight."

"Wha…"

"Naruto, you can't assault the tower! It would take an army of ninja to do that!"

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do. Just tell me, will you be ready to fight if I return with Gaara in, say, an hour."

"…hai."

"Temari!"

"Kankuro, if we can't trust Naruto to get the job done, who can we?"

"Good, I'll be back in around an hour. Get your forces ready to go." Naruto charged a rasengan in his left hand, brightening the room more then the candle. "When I have Gaara, we strike back.

* * *

Naruto was getting ready. He was slightly tired from the run to Suna, and it was close to midnight. The cold desert wind blew sand around his legs as he began to walk. He was only a few steps from the door when a small hand grabbed his arm. He spun around faster then most ninja could comprehend and found himself with a kunai at the neck of Matsuri. 

"Matsuri. What is it?"

"Naruto-sama. I… wanted to wish you good luck in finding Gaara-kun..."

"So he's Gaara-kun, now? Don't you think Gaara-sama or Kazekage-sama would be more appropriate?" His joke caused Matsuri to blush even more then she already was.

"Gomen… but…"

"Yeah, I know. You two are close, right? He told me a while ago in his last message to me that he had found a friend just as good as me, if not better. Kinda made me a little jealous of you. You and me and his siblings were really the only people to ever get close to him while he still contained the demon. That means something to him. I'll bring him back."

Matsuri had tears in his eyes as she smiled up at Naruto, who was a head and a half taller then her. She reached up and pulled him down to kiss him on the cheek.

"Please, give my love to Gaara-kun…"

"Ano… I don't think it will mean the same coming from me. Stay safe in the battle or Gaara will have my skin for a bed sheet." Naruto smiled as he walked away, leaving Matsuri to disappear into the night to prepare her cell of ninja for battle.

* * *

Suna is a very interesting city. It was formed in a large crater found in the middle of a desert. The enormous walls of rock surrounding it provided natural protection from the harsh desert winds and sand storms. What originally started out as a small outpost for travelers and bands of nomad ninja slowly became a village, and then a city. The large tower in the middle of the crater sprung from the sand and slowly the buildings began to surround it. 

As the years went by, the natural protection of the city became a limiter to the size of the town. The ground was full and the walls wouldn't allow for more expansion. It was decided to build up. Everything increased in height till there wasn't one house with less then two stories and not one within a half kilometer of the tower with less then four. The tall, densely packed, buildings made night at ground level near pitch black, impossible to see enough to walk. No one would ever attack from ground level where sight was impaired.

No one except Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto had a definite advantage. As a single ninja in a mostly black outfit, he was not easy to spot normally. But, combined with the absolute darkness between the six and seven story homes surrounding the thin street he walked, he was invisible.

Naruto arrived at his destination four minutes into his one hour time limit. He had traveled the kilo from the safe house to the tower in utter silence and darkness. How he did it would be speculated by many, what with one eye and all. But if someone actually had seen him, they would have noticed that his headband was no longer covering his 'missing' eye.

Naruto stared at the two guards guarding the only entrance to the tower._ Well, I could either make my own entrance and set off the entire army, or I can try to avoid all of the ninja and surveillance that is around. Both have their own issues, but the real question is which will work with the least killing?_

Naruto looked around the entrance, finding two cameras covering every possible route through the massive doors. He had no genjutsu or ninjutsu so he had to go with the old acting job. That would probably be best. Naruto pulled the headband down over his eye and walked out of the shadows.

"Hey, you two. I need to see the Kazekage. Important mission. Good? Good." Naruto walked past the stunned guards and was about open the door when he found a kunai at his neck.

"Not so fast, whoever you are. What do you think your doing?"

"Ano… going to see the Kazekage about an important mission?"

"You said that already?"

"Alright, to tell the truth I am actually trying to find your okaa-san."

"What?"

"Your kaa-san and me, we make great music together."

"What the hell? SHUT UP!" The guard kicked Naruto in the back and into the door._ I was sick of the conversation anyway. It doesn't matter what I said, as long as it looks like they started it. Cameras don't record sound._ Instants after hitting the door, both ninja were unconscious and Naruto wiped his hands and innocently walked through the door.

He had gone down an entrance hallway and was studiously studying a sign that said, simply, "no weapons past this point", when the first set of guards, six in all, appeared and surrounded him.

"Ah, glad you guys showed up! You see, I'm trying to find the Kazekage, important mission and all that. But the only sign in here says I need to give up my weapons. But my arms, they are quite attached to me. Haha, get it? I crack myself up!" Naruto had carefully checked around to see the cameras and the angles they covered. One was in front of him, two more down the hall where he came from. The only blind spot was behind one of the pillars that were aligned down the halls. This wasn't the place for a fight.

"Come with us."

"Alright! To the Kazekage we go!" They tied his hands and took away his kunai and shurikin. _Easy. Get arrested and they'll take me right to him! I just need to make sure I can escape. That won't be hard._

Naruto followed two ninja and four followed him as they walked down the halls. Eventually they took a stairway down to the lowest level. Naruto estimated they were between fifteen and twenty meters down below ground level. They were walking down a very low lit corridor when Naruto noticed exactly what he was hoping would happen._ No camera coverage here. Time to begin the plan._

"Hey, with my hands tied like this I can't get this damned head band out of my way, can you help me here?" One of the younger looking guards looked at the leader and, after getting a nod, moved the headband out of the way of his other eye. Instants later, the young guard fell to the ground unconscious.

"Wha…" The rest of the ninja were silenced moments later by only Naruto and his feet.

"Sorry kid." The young one on the ground still had his eyes open as he twitched on the floor. _Mental scaring, most likely._ Naruto clenched his fists to press down on the leather of his forearm guards ties in his palms. Each guard resembled a series of reptile scales, highly flexible and also very strong, but Naruto had added his own touch to a common ninja tool. Blades came out from between the scales of hard, black leather. Instantly, the ropes holding his arms were cut through and he was free again.

He ran down the hallway and immediately recognized a chakra presence that could only belong to his old friend. He ran past cells filled with prisoners whom he didn't recognize, but figured they were loyalists to Gaara. The last cell, empty of everything, was Gaara. He looked very heavily sedated.

"Gaara?"

"… N… Naruto?"

"Gaara, I am here to get you out, lets go."

"Go? Go… go where?"

"To see Temari and Kankuro."

"See… family… will Matsuri be there?"

"Yeah, lets go." Naruto slammed a rasengan into the lock of the cell door. He blew the entire door off its hinges and Gaara laughed in a drugged stupor at the destruction.

"Wow… that was cool."

"Yeah, cool. Let's go." Naruto grabbed Gaara and put him on his back to carry him out. He ran back past the cells of sleeping prisoners, sorry he wouldn't free them, but they would be too weak for the fight to come. Gaara would be powerful enough to be a help even if they hadn't fed him for a week.

Naruto had memorized the back to the entrance, but escape was different then entrance. He needed to make sure no cameras picked up which direction he headed. He ran back up the stairs and stopped at the first floor, turned around, and shoved a rasengan into the opposite wall of the door. Instantly the alarms went off, but Naruto was already jumping out of the hole in the wall and making use of his speed to get back to the safe house. He managed to glance at the moon._ Forty five minutes. I should give them a little more time, shouldn't I?_

Naruto carefully laid Gaara on the ground and propped him against a wall in the shadow and put a cloak over him to mask his trademark red hair and tattoo. Naruto went back and watched as a stream of guards poured from the doors of the tower. Naruto pulled out a kunai and an explosive note he had retrieved from the guards who had kidnapped him and threw it with deadly aim to smash a camera in the archway holding the door. All the eyes turned to look at the smashed camera and the kunai imbedded in the wreckage.

An explosion rang through the night as thirty ninjas were crushed under the falling stone. Naruto smirked and went back to Gaara. He picked him up and ran with him using stealth and speed back towards the safe house in a roundabout way.

* * *

Temari and twenty other ninja stood ready to attack as soon as Naruto returned with Gaara. Once they knew their leader was safe, they would attack. Matsuri stood next to her, her own team of twenty standing off to the side. She was biting her nails in worry. 

"Matsuri, don't worry. Naruto is the most reliable ninja I know."

"Yeah…"

"Stop biting your nails or you can kiss your chances of marrying my brother good bye."

"Na… nani?" Matsuri threw her hands to her sides and blushed to the point where it became easier to see around her with her glowing face.

"Surely you understand. As the older sibling, I must give my permission for Gaara to marry anyone."

"Ano… I… uh…" Before Matsuri managed to blush anymore an explosion sounded from the tower. Temari and Matsuri turned to look at the light that temporarily made the night a little brighter.

"Kami… I hope that was part of his plan…"

"Who's doubting Naruto now?"

Only a few minutes later they were surprised to see Naruto with a cloaked man on his back running at speeds that shouldn't have been possible. He stopped in front of Matsuri and Temari before removing the cloaked man and taking the cloak off.

"GAARA-KUN!" Throwing stealth to the wind, Matsuri was on the ground kissing the heavily drugged Kazekage.

"Matsuri, quiet! Give him the antidote!"

"You had an antidote?" Naruto watched as Matsuri took a needle from her pouch and stuck it in Gaara's arm.

"We had informants that told us what drugs were being sent daily to the tower. We prepared for three drugs, but this is definitely a simple one." Gaara was slowly regaining sobriety as Matsuri kept crying tears of joy.

"Wha… Matsuri? Naruto? What… what the hell… damn head ache." Gaara stood up with the help of Matsuri.

"Good to see you lucid, Gaara. Do you know anything that has happened?"

"No… nothing is clear…"

"There was a coup de tat. You've been drugged for a week. Naruto came to help us rescue you, the main attack begins now, if you're up for it."

"I… I am up for it. Bastards trying to pull that on me…"

"Ok, well I guess we should go. Gaara, you and me, we are going to be the spearhead."

"Nani? I thought I was the one planning this!"

"Temari, trust me. Me and Gaara will take out half the enemy before we run out of chakra, then you and your boys have clean up. Much safer for everyone."

"Alright, we attack in ten minutes."

"Alright, let's go Gaara." Gaara gave Matsuri one last squeeze before floating up on a cloud of sand with Naruto beside him.

"Good luck, Gaara-kun, Naruto-sama."

* * *

Naruto stood on a floating cloud of sand next to Gaara. He personally didn't care for this form of transport, but it was fast and guaranteed to get attention. But it felt like he was about to sink through and fall to his death. 

"Naruto, I haven't seen you in a while. How are you?"

"Kind of a weird time to discuss things, but I'm fine. I see you and Matsuri are closer then ever."

"Hai."

"Me and Hinata… I took her on our first date a few days ago."

"Really? Finally."

"Kuso, don't go off on me too! Just because I don't see that she is in love with me for over fifteen years…"

"Just fifteen?"

"Ok, that's a little low. Let's just focus on those people I see below us surrounding the tower like it was their nest."

"They don't understand that one of us could eliminate most of them like they are in one attack."

"You do your desert avalanche and I'll take out the survivors."

"Hai." Gaara and Naruto landed in the middle of about two hundred ninja who were surrounding the empty area around the Kazekage's tower.

"Hello, and welcome to your death, Kazekage-sama." A man who was obviously older then most of the people in the city walked out of the recently cleared rubble of a front door.

"The chief elder, I figured it would be you."

"Yes, and now the entire city is against you once again. I have been an elder since before you were born, and I am finally grateful to say that my original wish for you has come to pass. Your death. You were meant to be our weapon, not our ruler. You were a plague all those years ago and now, twenty five years later, you will finally be destroyed like the demon you are."

"Hey, baka, Gaara isn't a demon. I saved him after it was removed."

"I refuse to believe it."

"Gaara. Can I kill him?"

"Hai."

Every ninja around him tensed and got into ready stances as he carefully lifted his arm. He raised the headband he had slid over his eye after leaving the tower. Gasps were heard from the ninja immediately around him as they stared at his revealed eye. Only a few knew what it was, but the ones that didn't were equally afraid. Nothing that looked like that could mean anything good.

The Mangekyo Sharingan.

The chief elders face began to become distorted with the air around him. The distortion spread until it seemed to the ninjas around as if there was a bubble of extremely hot air surrounding the elder and a dozen people around him. Naruto gave a small grunt of exertion and even Gaara watched in morbid fascination as the elder and everything within ten meters of his face in a complete sphere disappeared. One ninja had been half in the bubble and half out, and found himself missing half of his torso, an arm, a leg, and a portion of his head. He didn't live to reach the ground.

A minute of silence passed as Naruto looked around at the masses of ninja. Suddenly the ninja closest to Naruto threw his katana to the ground.

"I give up, please forgive me, Kazekage-sama!"

"I give up, too!"

"Same!"

A wave of weapons hit the ground as the entire ground of ninja found themselves surrounded on all sides by the forces of Temari and her resistance. The all bowed towards Gaara, who stared at them with his usual lack of emotion. The revolution of Suna was over.

"Well, Naruto. I think you have a little to explain about that eye, there."

"Well, if I would tell anyone, it would be you."

"And after that, maybe you can stay for breakfast."

"Sounds good." Gaara started walking towards his office as Temari's troops disarmed and arrested the ninja for trial later, but stopped when Naruto collapsed suddenly face first into the sand.

"Damn chakra exhaustion…" Naruto fell unconscious.

* * *

AN: Long one, but I wanted to show off Naruto. Oh, and as an interesting note. I really didn't plan any of that. I just was writing and when I got to the part with the ANBU honor guard I just typed without thinking the part about go home and Hokage screw herself. So... I didn't backspace it. It was the perfect way to show off Naruto in his jutsuless state. Oh, the explination of why he has Mangekyo is in the next chapter, but I think you should be able to figure it out. 


	6. Separation Anxiety

AN: Ok, so I haven't been around for a while. Things happened. Here is the next chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5: Separation Anxiety

* * *

Hinata Hyuga was about as happy as the Hokage was around Jiraiya. Not at all. At eight in the morning she was seen walking through the city streets in a way that said, "get in my way and you better enjoy life as a eunuch." People literally turned into alleys to get out of her way. She stalked towards the Hokage tower radiating anger… which was really just a cover for fear.

Four days. Naruto had been gone for four days on a mission he had told her would take TWO. Naruto doesn't lie, he doesn't break promises. That means he ran into complications or… or something happened to make it impossible to return. She wiped some tears from her eyes as she ran up the stairs towards the Hokage's office. Shizune was waiting outside the door in her desk.

"Good morning, Hin… DON'T GO IN THERE!"

Hinata didn't care if the Hokage was mad or angry for her coming this early, she needed to talk.

"Tsunade-sa… what are you doing?"

Hinata walked in on the Hokage during an early morning drink. But it wasn't just a shot of sake. Tsunade was downing an entire bottle of sake. With no glass, straight from the bottle. Hinata stared at the Hokage and Shizune stared as well.

"Tsunade-sama?"

"Yeah, what is it?" Tsunade was still partially sober, or so it seemed.

"Ano… Tsunade-sama… I wanted to know if you've heard from… Naruto-kun…"

"Naruto? Bastard got held up in Suna with an injury. Said something about a coup… bastard worrying me for two days… bastard worrying Momo and… and me…"

"He's in Sand injured?"

"Over used his gift, that bastard… needs a few weeks rest, leaving us all here…"

"Tsunade-sama, my team has done well on their first few missions, would it be possible to send them on a mission to, say, sand? For more information on the coup, of course."

"You just want to go make-out with that bastard, don't cha? Well, all I can say is that… I forgot what I was going to say." Tsunade had finished her bottle of sake and tossed it into a bin by her desk, where it sat next to three other empty bottles. Then she passed out on her desk.

"Shizune?"

"Just a sec?" Shizune went over and used a medical jutsu to get rid of some of the effects of the alcohol in her system. She had learned early on in her apprenticeship that if she were to ever learn anything on certain days of the week she would need to learn that jutsu. Tsunade woke up a few minutes later.

"Wha… damn hangover… Hinata? What are you doing here, again?"

"You were… telling me to take my team on a training mission to Suna?"

"I… don't remember that."

"Hinata-sama, don't confuse Tsunade-sama like that!"

"Gomen… Tsunade-sama, I… I wish to take my team to Suna. I can't say that it is strictly business, as Shisui, Momo and I are all worried about Naruto."

"I wouldn't worry too much. Naruto is strong. He just over used that last gift he got from his best friend. Freaked the hell out of me when they gave the medical report, but he is safe with Gaara."

"Wha… what do you mean?"

"You know… his other eye, the one he keeps covered?"

"Yeah, he told me it's sharingan, from Sasuke."

"That's right, but it isn't just sharingan, its Mangekyo."

"Wha… How?"

"He won't tell. The instant his eye was put in, it went from regular to Mangekyo. And he can't turn it off, which makes it different from Kakashi's. That, and it was from the most powerful sharingan user to date."

"So… what did he do?"

"Some weird technique Kakashi taught him. But, you know Naruto, he sort of put a whole hell of a lot more power into it. I doubt even he will be moving for a week more, at least. Damn bastard… nearly killed himself again…"

Hinata had been worried enough, but after hearing Tsunade curse under her breath she was feeling light headed. She had only just gotten closer to Naruto… and he had almost died just when… just when he had told her he loved her.

It would have been better to have never known if… that had happened.

"Can I take my team? I won't stop their training, and it might improve Konoha and Suna relations! A survival exercise in the desert with long distance travel while interacting with the ninja's of Suna would surly be beneficial for a genin team."

"I highly doubt our relations can be improved any more then Naruto did by saving their Kazekage, for the second time now, and ending a coup de tat almost by himself almost literally, but I will give your team a mission."

"What kind of mission?"

"C-ranked. Deliver Naruto some clothes and personal effects while not getting killed on the way. You have permission to remain in Suna until Naruto is ready to return. At which time, you will escort him home without getting him killed."

Hinata was overjoyed. She ran up to Tsunade, who still smelled of sake, and kissed her on the cheek while wrapping her in a hug.

"Thank you so much, Tsunade-sama!" Hinata ran out of the room, leaving a smiling Tsunade and a Shizune that looked ready to kill her boss for drinking on the job.

* * *

Naruto woke up feeling like his head had exploded and a two year old had put it back together. He couldn't shake the fuzziness out of his ears, but then again, he couldn't even shake his head. Sounds clumped together and swirled around in his head before becoming recognizable as voices that said words that made no sense. A few seconds later he realized that the words actually did make since, but he was barely hearing them. The voice was… Temari's. Naruto opened his eyes with great pain to find himself exactly where he thought he would end up. A hospital bed.

He no longer had to listen in on a conversation about what was probably him because whoever was talking with Temari noticed his eyes open.

Eyes.

Naruto quickly closed his left eye and pulled his pillow over his eye. He tried to speak, but only managed a dry throated wheeze.

"Hey, you're awake finally. Kankuro, get the guy something to drink."

"Saki?"

"You idiot…"

"Water, you ass! Kami, how did I end up with an idiot for a brother, and another who didn't talk to anyone for five years unless it was to ask for their blood?"

"Kami hates you."

"Gaara-kun, that wasn't a nice thing to say to your sister! Apologize."

"Gomen, Temari."

"Wow… I have one word for you, Gaara. Whipped."

Naruto had no idea what the hell was going on in his room but apparently it was the designated area for loud speech and giving him a headache. He closed his right eye as well and pulled the pillow completely over his head before letting out a light groan.

"I think he likes the quiet, Temari."

"Then shut up, Kankuro."

"Quiet."

Almost instantly the noise in Naruto's room dropped down to nothing. Gaara had spoken, and when Gaara used that tone of voice it meant he was ready and willing to back up his orders with… corporal punishment. Naruto slowly removed the pillow from his right eye and opened it. The world blurred into focus as he blinked into the light. Gaara and his two siblings, along with Matsuri, stood around his rather large hospital bed. A small floating pile of sand was holding a glass in front of his face containing a large amount of water. He nodded to Gaara in thanks before taking a slow sip. He set the glass on the table by his bed before trying to speak once again. With a hack and a cough he was once again able to speak.

"How long was I out?"

"You have been unconscious for… just over three days now."

Naruto frowned at that information, out of surprise and partial anger at just being kept from fulfilling his mission, even when it was a little bit harder then it had originally sounded.

"Damn… I promised them I would be back a day later, not four…" He tried to move his legs, but found that it was more like moving them through drying concrete. "… or five days. Hinata-chan is gonna kill me."

"So you finally got together with the Hyuga girl. All those years ago, in the chunin exam, it was pretty obvious to most of us that she had it bad for you."

"I didn't see that."

"Gaara, need I remind you what you were concentrating on during that entire exam?"

"No."

"Thanks for reminding me about my obliviousness again, you are only the… three hundredth to do so."

Naruto gave a smirk and another cough. It seemed even his extremely boosted immune system was suffering from the weakness that followed such a display of power. He lay back in bed and stared at the ceiling, about to nod off again, but Gaara's face was suddenly above his.

"Naruto… the eye."

"The… eye?" Naruto had kept his left eye tightly shut for most of the last six years, and it was habit for him to never open it at all. Now, subconsciously, he moved his hand to cover it.

"Yes, Naruto. The eye."

Naruto's open eye flashed towards the three others in the room, none of whom knew what the hell they were talking about except from reports from the prisoners, and those made next to no sense. Gaara noticed his attention shift and turned to his siblings and fiancé.

"Please leave us alone for a moment."

His family only nodded, seeing the seriousness of the situation, and left without another word to wait in the hall. When Matsuri blew Gaara a kiss and softly shut the door Gaara turned back to Naruto with a small smile that Naruto could never say he had seen on his friend's face before.

"Kankuro is right, Gaara. She has you under her thumb."

"I like being under it." Gaara sat in a chair by his bed and motioned for him to begin. Naruto sighed and began.

"You remember the massive search for Sasuke about seven years ago? Just after the Akatsuki incident with you."

"Hai."

"We failed. He escaped again, and we thought he had gone south over the ocean to train after his most recent loss to his brother. A year later the Akatsuki thing came to a head, which you know. I was the one to finish off most of the people in the innermost sanctum. No one else was with me in the end except… except Sasuke. He came back, I assume to finish off Itachi. But… he… he was helping me. It was only after Itachi was killed did I realize that it was not Sasuke at all, but Orochimaru in his body."

"Orochimaru…"

"Hai, and then he went after me with Pain at his heels. I fought them off, killing Pain and cutting Sasuke in half…"

"You mean Orochimaru."

"No, Sasuke was there… in the end. Orochimaru's soul, I think, was unconscious from the shock, letting Sasuke come to the surface. He gave me his eye, because I had lost mine. That was, of course, after I fought the final member of the Akatsuki…"

"You sound as if he was different…"

"I don't want to talk about it, really. But… in the end… I received the sharingan from Sasuke and the Mangekyo from killing him."

Gaara leaned back in his chair and stared at Naruto.

"That's… very interesting… that would imply that the activation for the Mangekyo is not the act of killing your best friend, merely the residual feeling from it. That would also explain Kakashi being able to have it."

"Hai, that is what we both think."

Gaara thought in silence for another minute before the door was opened and an easily recognized face walked in with his hands in his pockets, followed closely by Temari, now carrying a small boy with blond hair and most of his hand in his mouth.

"Uzumaki Naruto, still getting nearly killed for a living, I see."

"Shikamaru, nice to… see you? Where were you in the invasion? And is that your kid?"

"Hai, that is my kid."

"His name is Ichi."

"Ichi?" Naruto looked at Shikamaru who sighed at the name his wife gave their child.

"To answer the other question, Naruto, I was out of the city on a mission. I am, technically, under Suna's and Konoha's orders and Suna counsel members wanted me to go talk with, of all people, the Raikage. I thought it was strange back then, but I realize now it was just them getting rid of me for a coup."

"The Raikage?"

"Couldn't see me. What did they expect?"

"Bastard of a kage, I'll take Kaze and Ho over Rai any day."

"I'll take that as a compliment, Naruto, but now I must return to my duties. Executions must take place as well as official pardons."

Gaara stood and nodded to Shikamaru and Temari before patting his nephew on the head, getting him a giggle from the boy, and heading out the door. Temari grabbed Ichi's hand and made him wave at Naruto and once again Naruto was alone.

Naruto laid back and went to sleep, trying to get rid of the massive headache and the pain behind his left eye.

* * *

"Alright team, technically this mission is a C rank for the distance we are traveling and who we might meet, not because we might run into enemy ninjas or even bandits. But don't rest for a moment, be on alert for anything that could or even couldn't be an enemy."

"Sensei?"

"Hai?"

"We know, you gave us the same talk three minutes ago when we all met at Naruto's house. We are only at the gate."

Hinata stared for a moment at Shisui and Haimaru, who was nodding in agreement, before realizing they were right.

_First mission jitters even when I have been on hundreds. This must be what Naruto felt all the time, leading forces against possible Akatsuki positions. I need to trust them, even though they aren't as trained as I was on my first C ranked mission._

_One I failed._

_No, don't think like that, Hinata. We are talking about Uzumaki Naruto's daughter and her friends. And me. We'll be fine._

"You're right. I just had a long night. Gomen."

"Sensei, we'll be fine."

"Hai, and even if a ninja pops out of nowhere, Gin can take 'em. Gin can take anyone." Haimaru gave the dog sitting on his head a small treat and the dog gave a bark in thanks. Hinata noticed that he hadn't included himself with his dog. It was something to question.

But later.

"Alright, let's go."

And with that her team walked out the west gate of Konoha. Hinata in the lead, always wary, Momo and Shisui behind her and Haimaru with Gin in the rear. They would walk for two days to get to Suna, and there was no need to rush. As they walked, they each did something to train themselves on Hinata's order. Momoko was told to focus chakra to her feet and barely pick up a piece of the path before letting it go with every step. It looked just like she was walking, but after a few miles she had started to sweat. Shisui was working with his bloodline and Haimaru was busy training himself and Gin to be able to act without speaking, using hand signals and other movements.

Hinata had her Byakugan active from the second mile till night.

"Sensei?"

"Hai, Shisui?"

"I have been working with my bloodline, like you told me to, and found something interesting."

"What is it?"

"My bones are different from that Kimimaro guy. Naruto only described him using blunt weapons from his bones or just pointed weapons, like a spear or a small edgeless sword. Only a few of his weapons were actually blades. I think my bloodline can be easier to use for either blunt or sharp creations, and it is more difficult to make creations of the type you aren't."

"How do you figure that?"

"I can't seem to make any bone that I get out of my body to not be extremely sharp. It took almost all my chakra to make a small ball the size of a soldier pill that wasn't sharp."

Hinata looked back at Shisui, who now had a blade three inches long extending from the palm of his hand. She watched him concentrate and slowly the blade began to grow dull, but as soon as he stopped it became sharp again.

"That is very interesting to know. Shisui, I don't think you really need to worry about it, though. If you have a talent for making them sharp, go with that."

"But… it is so much easier to… you know…"

"Kill? Kimimaro killed with blunt weapons, didn't he? Sharp just means less pain if you are an expert at it. And killing… well… no one I know or respect enjoys killing. But it is something that must be done in our line of work. Don't hesitate to do so to save your life or the life of your teammate."

Shisui looked down at the ground before nodding and they all continued walking, Shisui trying desperately hard to accept what his sensei said. Momoko next to him gave him a slap on his back, causing him to nearly fall forward.

"Cheer up, Shisui! Your skills are awesome anyway, just because they're yours."

Shisui gave her a small smile and continued to work on his bones.

Who knows what he could do eventually?

Momoko suddenly tripped next to him while accidentally stepping on a rock instead of the path and finding it too difficult to pull up. It turned out that it was her saving grace, because her entire team turned to face her and stopped all forward movement.

Just in time to see a kunai go through the area that had been Momoko's heart an instant before and a kunai with an explosive tag hit the ground directly where Hinata would have been.

The tag went off, sending the team to the ground for cover. Less then a second later they were in ready stances and scanning the trees for enemies.

They didn't move for ten minutes.

But no one showed up in even Hinata's sight.

No one had had been there to begin with.

What was going on?

* * *

The team stopped moving when the sun fell, and Hinata, used to long periods of time without sleep from her days as a chunin, took look out for the night.

She couldn't keep the Byakugan on all the time, but her senses were on alert for anything.

And Momoko's tent was in her direct vision.

_The first kunai had been for her, the other had been for me. Who was really the target of the attack? Why would anyone want Momoko, specifically, dead? I don't think I have many enemies… and Momoko has never even been outside the walls since she was found. Are they really trying to get… Naruto-kun?_

_No, that isn't right. No one outside of Konoha would know about Momoko's or my own relationship to Naruto. What was the purpose of the attack and why didn't I sense the one who made the attack. Not even Naruto can run a mile in less then a hundredth of a second, and that is what they would have needed to do to have avoided detection. It wasn't a trap, we checked afterwards. Some one threw those kunai with a purpose._

_But what was it?_

Hinata didn't sleep that night.

* * *

Naruto, for reasons of his own, didn't sleep any more than her. For the fourth time that night he woke in a cold sweat, and finally gave up on sleep. The nightmares weren't worth it. Most of the time they were perfectly normal dreams of guilt for Sasuke's death or memories of beatings in the past. The usual for Naruto, who rarely had dreamless nights and very few good dreams to speak of. But these dreams were different.

They were so real.

And they hadn't happened.

He would be assaulting the base of the Akatsuki and everything would be happening identical to that day so long ago, but this time a voice was in his head telling him to turn here, jump the trap there. Every movement he made had been dictated to him by an unseen speaker who Naruto knew to be the voice of his late prisoner, the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Then he won the battle, saving the world.

Then the voice, weak from the energy lost, made one final command.

_**The girl… set Her free…**_

And Naruto saw himself stagger to the cages of the prison and find his soon to be adopted daughter.

Only, instead of his daughter it was a seven foot tall woman.

Chained and bound to a point near the ground.

_**Good… my job is done here…**_

The dream had no horrible parts, except the death of Sasuke again and again, but it was when he stared at the woman and she stared back. But not into the dream Naruto's eyes. Not the eyes of the Naruto he saw walking around.

Into his eyes.

And then he would wake up.

_What is this?_

Each time he dreamed the woman would change. But each time she would look him right in the eyes.

_What is the meaning of this dream?_

Naruto uncovered his eye, his headband had been returned to him, and decided to go back to sleep.

This time, the dream woman would look into both of his eyes.

And he would find out if this dream meant anything.

But he dreamed no more that night.

His daughter, on the other hand…

* * *

The daughter of Uzumaki Naruto slept no better then her father. He dreams were less substance and more blurry visions of nothing and something at the same time. All she saw was shapes and colors that came together in one place for instants, never into a coherent object or tangible thing. Sounds and colors blended together in her mind so that she would have said an objects's color was loud and it sounded green. It made perfect sense to her, until one clear voice pierced the insanity of her dream word.

_**Daughter…**_

Momoko heard and instantly understood something. The voice was not in the dream. But, when she thought about it, it wasn't out of the dream, either. It was… above the dream and yet… who would call her daughter?

_O…kaa-san?_

_**Child…**_

… the voice was part of the dream but not in it. The voice was… it was almost like…

_Who… who are you?_

_**Vigilance…**_

… the voice was the dream. The colors and sounds and shapes were the voice… or the source of the voice… if that made any sense.

_What do you mean?_

_**Stay… safe…**_

_What are you talking about? Who are you?_

And then the colors were gone, the sounds taken with them, and the shapes drifted away into nothingness.

* * *

Thousands of miles away on the bottom of the ocean to the south east, hundreds of miles to the north west, and only a few miles away to the north east something happened that night. Shrines set up thousands of years before Konoha even existed began to swirl with energy. A crack was widening. A time limit had run out. And Order gained more power. The world would fall.

* * *

At 3:42 in the morning thousands of ninjas across the five elemental countries awoke, but went to sleep moments later due to a lack of a known reason. Awoken for no known reason, but a reason none the less.

Hinata Hyuga and her team were ready to go early the next morning, eager to reach Suna later that day. Eager, but definitely more cautious. They traveled in silence and stealth off the beaten path and through the trees until they reached the dunes of Wind Country. Then they loosened up more, their vision unblocked and no one in sight.

But none were totally unaware.

They had been attacked by an unknown force and the whole thing was completely unresolved. The questions were still there. Who? Why?

And, for Hinata, how?

_Yesterday… an attacker would have needed to have no chakra at all to evade my vision. Not even the smallest of insects can evade my sight, so there is no way a human of any chakra size could evade my Byakugan. No chakra at all… life wouldn't be possible._

"Okaa-san?"

Hinata dropped her frown and put a smile on before turning around to face Momoko. She was forgetting the most important fact of the attack. It was ineffective.

"Hai, Momo-chan?"

"There is a man coming at us from the direction of Suna."  
Hinata stared up in shock, having looked only moments ago and saw nothing, to find that there was, indeed, a man coming from the direction of the still out of sight Suna.

And the Byakugan wasn't picking up any chakra from him.

Any.

"Be ready for an attack, everyone!"

"Sensei?"

"Be on guard, Haimaru. This man in not normal."_ Either that… or something is wrong with my eyes…_

The team was in loose ready stances when the man came within shouting distance. He appeared to be elderly, though not overly so. He just walked towards them. Hinata decided to give the strange man a warning.

"Halt where you are and identify yourself!" Hinata watched as the man didn't even appear to hear the warning and kept his rather slow pace towards the steady.

He was close enough now that they could see the kunai in his hand. Hinata was getting worried, the man's actions defied human logic.

"Stop, or we will be forced to kill you!"

Nothing, the man was within fifty meters of the group now. His clothes were strange and simple. Brown and rough robes covered his body. The man's steps were methodical and symmetric, constant and consistent. And he never slowed.

Then he was only twenty meters away.

"Sensei?"

"Maybe he's deaf, sensei."

"Okaa-san?"

The three students were starting to feel extremely uneasy. Something about this common man, almost run of the mill in appearance, was causing their sensei to sweat more then the heat called for. And her face showed all the worry she had kept hidden until then.

The man was ten meters away. He didn't even turn his eyes to look at any one person, just walked and walked like that was all he knew how to do.

Until he threw the kunai in his hand directly towards Momoko.

It was simply blocked.

And the man didn't even care or notice. He just stopped walking.

And then vanished.

Hinata was staring at the place where the man had last stood, noticing nothing. No wind or sand kicked up from speed. No mark of anything on the ground to show there was even a man there to begin with.

Not even footprints.

Or a kunai, seconds ago blocked by Momoko.

It was as if nothing had been there, and nothing had happened.

"Wha… sensei?"

"What the HELL?"

"Okaa-san… what was that?"

Hinata just stared at the point in the air where the man had stood. Not once had she seen anything with the Byakugan besides the empty space where a man should be.

But the kunai, Momoko had assured her, had be physical. She had felt the force against her own when she blocked it.

Nothing.

"A… genjutsu?"

There was no one within miles of them.

"A mirage?"

A group hallucination?

"Sensei?"

No chakra, no evidence, no man, no kunai, no nothing.

Was she going insane?

* * *

Naruto lay in bed after being ordered to remain there by a very insistent Kazekage. Time crawled by with nothing to do and no one to talk to. His head still hurt like hell, making it worse. Naruto sighed. Inactivity combined with a lack of ramen would be the death of him.

That, and the fact that he didn't even know if his daughter and… Hinata… even knew he was alive. Sure, four days was a long time, but even a chunin traveling at top speed would take over a day to reach Konoha. And with the situation here, Gaara might not have a shinobi to spare. Naruto grimaced as he thought what they would do.

"Tsunade-bachan will probably just kill me for making her worry. Hinata will kill me in sparring. Momoko will bug me about not making it back in time for days… weeks… years…"

"Why would I do that, otou-san?"

Naruto quickly turned his head to face the door instead of the window. Standing there he saw Hinata and her team. And, instead of anger, he saw confusion.

"Naruto?"

"Hai."

"Why are you wrapped to the bed with sand?"

Naruto tried to shrug, but barely managed to move.

"Gaara insisted that I remain in bed for at least another day. And when the Kazekage insists, and you ignore him once or twice… well…"

"You are forced to listen. And it was fourteen times, Naruto." Gaara stepped from around the door as well before releasing the sand. "Stay in bed or I will contain you to it for another day."

"Hai…" Gaara smirked and left. "… okaa-san." A piece of sand flew from the window and smacked Naruto in the back of the head.

"Damn it…"

Naruto stretched his arms and sat up in bed, motioning for them all to have a seat. With only three chairs in the room, Hinata managed to sit on the side of Naruto's bed. She placed her hand over his forehead.

"Well, Naruto… you don't have a fever."

"No, just a massive headache and sore nerves."

Haimaru was staring at Naruto like he was sprouting horns from his head. "Naruto-san?"

"What is it?"

"We heard you basically took down a few hundred ninja with one move. What was it and can you teach me?"

Naruto, normally, would have ruffled the kid's hair and told him that he might learn it when he was older. That is what he would have done if his dreams had not been what they had been.

"Haimaru, I took out only a few ninja with a move. And you don't want to learn it. To learn that move… you would need a certain blood limit and… and you would need to kill your best friend with your own hands…" Naruto wasn't looking at Haimaru anymore, he was looking through him into his own memories. "That, Haimaru, is something no one should ever need to do."

Silence filled his small room as he looked out the window. Hinata was the first one to break the silence.

"Naruto… I heard the whole story from Tsunade. About..." She reached down to his headband, but stopped before touching it. "… you know. I thought you would like to know something. On our way here, we were attacked."

That got Naruto's attention. Instantly his eyes went from dull and lifeless blue-grey to a worry filled light blue. Hinata couldn't help but smile a small smile. It was definitely an improvement, but he could get better.

"Wha… who…"

"I don't know."

"Otou-san! We think it was this old man we saw this morning in the desert! The day before we had been attacked, but no one was there. Today a man walked up, threw a kunai at me, and then he disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Naruto looked in confusion from Momo to Hinata. Both nodded. Shisui spoke up.

"Hai, the man vanished as if he was never there. The kunai as well. There were no marks in the sand where a kunai would have hit, and no foot prints."

"Could the wind…"

"The wind was very light, not enough to fill foot prints and cause a kunai to vanish instantly."

"Then... Hinata's Byakugan. What did you see?"

"Nothing."

"What do you mean?"

"I saw nothing, there was no man despite the evidence for it. Same with the day before. The only chakra I saw for either attack was in the explosive note in the first attack. There was no one for over a mile in any direction. At least… there wasn't any chakra. The man we saw was a shell without chakra. If he existed... no… he couldn't exist. Each individual cell of our bodies uses chakra and has chakra inside it. This man had nothing. There was no chakra in his body."

"So… this man was… a ghost?"

"Ghosts do not exist, Naruto-san." Gin barked an agreement.

"I know that, and you know that… but does that ghost know that." Naruto smirked as Haimaru and Shisui sighed and Hinata and Momoko giggled. Hinata smiled wider as Naruto's eyes once again found the deep blue glow that he only had when he was happy. And that was worth the trip.

"Alright, you three. Gaara already gave you your rooms, so be in them by ten. Until then explore the city and meet our allies. And don't get into any fights."

Shisui froze at that. But his sensei gave him a reassuring smile and he smiled back. Maybe he would go talk to Gaara about Kimimaro Kaguya, and the blood he carried in his veins.

Haimaru ran out the door with his black friend at his heels. Momoko gave her otou-san a hug before following Haimaru in his escape. She knew exactly where she was going. Though, minutes later, she would forget when she saw something interesting and then she would wander the city for hours just looking at things.

Hinata, on the other hand, stayed right beside Naruto's bed.

"Hinata, that man…"

"Everything I know about these attacks points to one of two options. Either all four of us are insane or someone has found a way to elude the Byakugan."

"Well, you are a little crazy." Naruto smiled up at her. Hinata decided to lay down next to him.

"Really?"

"Hai. You fell in love with me, didn't you?" Hinata smiled back at him.

"I guess I did."

"But don't worry. I'm perfectly sane. I can prove it. Only an insane person wouldn't fall in love with you."

"Really?" Hinata kissed him on the nose.

"Really." Naruto leaned over and kissed her on the lips. Only a second later a third voice entered the room.

"Naruto."

"WHAT?" Naruto shot up in bed, breaking his kiss with Hinata, to turn and face the Kazekage. Gaara was unfazed by his outburst, but Hinata as embarrassed as ever.

"When I said you couldn't get out of bed, I didn't mean you could do any… strenuous activities… while still in bed."

"WHAT?" Naruto went beet red and Hinata looked like she was about to pass out. "That… we weren't gonna… shut the hell up!"

"Good." And with that, Gaara was gone. But, at the same time, Hinata was blissfully unconscious. And Naruto, not wanting to disobey the Kazekage, decided to let her sleep right where she was, under his arm.

But Naruto didn't fall back into sleep as the one he loved did. He had too many things to think about.

Who was the woman?

Who wanted his daughter dead?

And why... why did it happen now?


End file.
